


Hypnos

by Farasha_nat



Category: Shameless (US)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Bipolar Disorder, Dreams, Homophobic Language, M/M, Mentions of Abortion, Mentions of Rape, Parallel Universes, Romance, Science Fiction, Sexual Content, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-08-05
Updated: 2015-08-07
Packaged: 2018-02-11 23:04:51
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 19
Words: 75,957
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2086521
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Farasha_nat/pseuds/Farasha_nat
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ian Gallagher doesn't understand why he has those dreams. He's living a parallel life while he's sleeping. But he's not the only one.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Mantras.

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first Shameless fic. Thank you Shamelessquestion for the help!

The curtains were moving with the air. Ian had been so tired when he went to bed that he forgot to close the window of his bedroom. His head was in pain. In a lot of pain. He had just woken up and he already needed a fucking aspirin, a huge one. 

He had drinks last night, of course he did, it was a Saturday night for Christ’s sake. But he just had a couple of beers with his friends. He had learned a long time ago that alcohol and meds didn’t work too well together. And not in a good way. If you consider smashing the room you share with two of your brothers during the biggest of your lows an experience every person with bipolar disease needed to go through, Ian didn’t.

So if he didn’t get wasted, why did he feel like a fucking massive rock had hit his head? It was similar to a hangover but different at the same time. It was like if two neurons were trying to click in his head but the process, for any strange reason, didn’t seem to be completed. He groaned already sit on his bed and thanked the gods it was a Sunday and he could stay at home the whole day. Damn, he could even spend the whole fucking day sleeping. But suddenly, the pain stopped and the weirdest thing happened.

Images and voices of what he dreamed last night flashed in his head. He hadn’t remembered the dream until that moment. He didn’t even remember he had dreamed anything at all. He just thought he had one of those he had been having the previous weeks. Everything was black, it felt like if his brain was being erased, like a reboot or some shit they do to the computers. 

But this dream started with him moving in the apartment where he lived on his own at that moment. He recognized the left half of the city. It was Los Angeles, the neighborhood where he lives to be more accurate. But next to the red building where his apartment was located everything was different. On the right, he could see a line of houses which Ian swore was part of Chicago South Side, where he grew up. As the images went by, he recognized no one from the dream. That until the person from the grey house just next door appeared.

He was a black haired guy with blue eyes and pale skin. They worked in the same hotel one summer when Ian was sixteen, even though they were in different departments. He didn’t talk much with the guy, but they used to have lunch breaks at the same time. According to his name tag, his name was Mickey. The first time he saw him he thought he was handsome but that was it. He didn’t have much time to flirt at work and he didn’t seem to send signals to his gaydar anyway.

But they met in the dream and as the days passed by (what the fuck? He had just slept for six hours and it was like a whole week there). They kept running into each other when they came back home from work. Apparently they had similar shifts. Because it was like real life but faster. He worked, slept, ate and even shit every day in the goddamn dream. By the end of the week, or the dream, Mickey Milkovich (that was the name he said when he introduced himself) asked him for a date. And guess what? Dream-Ian said yes.

Then he woke up and the headache started. The images disappeared along with the voices. Ian couldn’t believe he remembered a fucking dream so detailed in like what? Twenty seconds? That was weird, way too weird. But at least it was better than the black dreams. He shrugged and got up. He needed caffeine in his system. The lack of coffee was the origin of every problem in this life. Or at least it was his mantra.

So after closing the window, he went to the small old kitchen and fixed some breakfast. He put two slices of bread in the toaster and he poured some coffee in a mug. Black with some sugar. He ate the toast with ham and cheese and took a sip of his coffee while he checked his phone. He sighed. He expected at least a call or a text from his asshole boyfriend.

He started dating Scott six months ago and Ian had feelings for him but he wasn’t sure of taking the next step in the relationship. So last night, after they got out from the pub where they met a group of friends, they had a huge fight over living together. Scott wanted Ian to move in with him and despite knowing how Ian felt about it, he tried to coax him once again. Ian had more than enough and told him to fuck off.

When he finished, he put some clothes on and went for a run. Exercising was what made him balanced, prevented him from losing his shit. Because Ian was trapped in one of those moments when you need to think deeply about some things in your life but at the same time you must keep your mind blank otherwise the police will find your brains on the wall.

He was running through the park when a buzz in his pocket made him stop. His face was red, not as red as his hair, but enough to make his freckles go away. He bent to catch some breath and looked at his phone. A big smile made its appearance the moment he saw the ID caller and Ian pushed his finger on the screen to answer the call.

“Ey Fi” Ian said with his breath still heavy. He saw a bench near where he was standing and decided to take a break.

“Don’t  _Ey Fi_ me. I went to bed late last night because some fucker told me he would call me back and didn’t. You know, some of us don’t have Sundays off and need to get up early”

Ian cringed already seated on the bench. “Shit, sorry.”

“You’d better be sorry, I work my ass here every day and I need my beauty rest.”

His sister had phoned him indeed last night just when he was driving to the pub and he promised to give her a call whenever he arrived. But Scott started to bust his balls since minute one sending him hints and he forgot about Fiona.

“So what did you want?” Ian run a hand through his flushed face and listened to her.

“Just wanted to know what’s up in my little brother’s life since he scarcely pays a visit.” I

an sighed “I live on the other side of the country, cut me some slack.”

“Don’t Bullshit me, Ian. Lip lives in L.A. too and he didn’t miss last Christmas”.

And there it was, a shiny red signal with the word _guilty_ over his head. Scott had wanted them to spend their first Christmas together as a couple, even if they had been dating for three months at the time. Ian thought it was too soon, but his boyfriend didn’t stop insisting on it until he said yes. And now that he thought about it, Scott was repeating the same technique. Well, someone had to cut his waters.

“Look, I promise I’ll be there on Easter, ok?”

“I hope so, because you don’t want me to take money from the squirrel fund to go there and drag your fucking ass here.”

Ian laughed. God he missed his sister. In fact, he missed all his siblings. Except one of them. Lip lived next to him so he saw his face every time. “How is everyone? Liam, Debbie and Carl?”

“They’re good. They miss you as hell but after a year, they’re used to it." Ian nodded even though he knew his sister couldn’t see the gesture.

“What about Kev and V?”

“The same, you know. You should skype with them some time”. Yeah, he could do that.

“Listen Fi, I gotta go. I’ll call you in a couple of days, ok? Promised.” He didn’t ask about Frank and he never did before. What was the point? He knew how he was. Drunk.

“Ok, take care.” Ian hung up and continued running.

About two hours later the red haired man was in the entrance hall of the building where he lived. His apartment was on the 5th floor and his legs were already trembling from the exercise, so he decided to take the elevator instead of climbing the stairs as he usually does. No need to push too hard and no interest in stiffness.

The elevator doors opened and revealed his boyfriend sat with his back against the door of his small apartment. Well, that was unexpected. Despite Scott being the one trying to force Ian to do something, he always ended up being the offended one. There was a point when Scott disappeared and it was Ian who had to crawl back to him apologizing himself. After not having a sign of him in the whole day, Ian thought they were at that stage. So finding him there was a surprise.

Scott turned his head towards the elevator and Ian raised his eyebrows.

“We need to talk” Scott said while he got up from the floor. His sandy hair fell over half of his face covering his right eye, but the other one was visibly looking right to Ian’s.

“Damn right we need to talk”. He opened the door with his key and both got in the apartment.

Ian was impatient. His head had been replaying the conversation he had with Fiona over and over. Scott couldn’t have chosen a worse time to try and convince Ian to live together. He wasn’t willing to put up with his boyfriend’sbullshit.

“Look man, I need to know you’re 100% in this and if you’re not just tell me because I don’t want to waste my time."

If Ian were a cartoon, his jaw would be on the floor. “That’s all you’re gonna say? Aren’t you going to apologize?”

Scott blinked twice and furrowed his brow before speaking again. “Apologize? Me? Why?”

Three questions in three words and Ian couldn’t figure which of them was the worst one. 

“I can’t fucking believe it.” He was pacing through his living room and trying not to look at Scott. If he did it he would punch him in the face. He was already covered in sweat, he didn’t want to be covered in blood too.

“I need you to leave."

“What?” Scott made a few steps towards him, but Ian stopped him placing his hand on his boyfriend’s chest.

“I need time to think if I want to invest my time with you. Just a few days. So now, please, leave and give me some days to think”. Ian’s fist was clench. He had used the nicest way to say  _You’d better don’t come around for a few days if you don’t want me to rip your tiny dick off. Now go fuck yourself_.

And it worked. Scott shut his mouth and turned around muttering a soft goodbye while closing the door. So it was done. If you excuse him, Ian was going to have shower and hit repeatedly his head on the tiles.

It wasn’t enough he had a massive fight with his boyfriend that afternoon, it was also Sunday night. Fuck Mondays! He wanted to go to bed and don’t get up in a week. However, as much as he loved his king size bed, he had to go to work. Because that was the reason why he went to L.A., work. So he listened to his spoilsport common sense, and he was in the bed earlier than usual. Anyway, he had nothing better to do. If he fell asleep thinking about Scott, he didn’t remember.

 _What the fuck have I done to deserve this?_ That was Ian’s first thought the following morning. The alarm went off at 6 am and boom! The headache was back. Hello morning to you too.

He tried to get up to take his pills, as he did every morning at that same hour. But something made his stop for a few seconds. Images and voices again. The dream started right where it finished the previous one, after agreeing to go on a date with Mickey. Work, sleeping, running… the same unknown faces mingled with the L.A. and Southside places he recognized.  Dream – Ian interacted with all of them, however the only constant person in that parallel life was Mickey. Another whole fucking week in eight hours of sleep. His head was flashing the last night of the dream when Ian froze. Had he just had sex with Mickey Milkovich? HOLY SHIT.

——————————————————————————————

Mickey was pissed. And horny. He wanted to rip his brain off his head and place it in a jar with formaldehyde until he stopped having those dreams. It was not that Mickey didn’t appreciate sex dreams but after three months not getting laid, that was worse than a fucking pain in the ass. And why did he have to dream with that stupid kid two days in a row? Don’t get him wrong, if he fucked the same way he did in the dream, Mickey wouldn’t mind bending over for him but that was not the point.

He knew the guy. He used to see him in the staff cafeteria of the fucking five star hotel where he worked seven years ago. The first time he saw him his cock moved in his pants but after that, he only grunted at him whenever he greeted while entering in the cafeteria. He was a happy fucker that asshole. He remembered his supervisor called him Gallagher and it stuck in his head over the years. But then he learnt his whole name in the first dream. Ian Gallagher. Well, he will go with Gallagher or Carrot top or Firecrotch. Mickey smirked and patted himself on the shoulder for the last nickname. Yeah, Firecrotch. Good one Mickey.

He admitted the dreams weren’t normal. It was weird enough that he had tons of black dreams for more than a month. They were disturbing, but better than getting up with your dick so hard than you could hang a brick on it. And what about the headaches? Every time he woke up it was like a train was going through his fucking head.

But what really annoyed Mickey was the faggy things he did in those dreams. Like asking Gallagher out on a date. What. The. Fuck? He had never done that shit in his entire life. He went out, fucked a guy (or got fucked, more likely) and thanks for the cock, have a nice fucking life. But apparently, Dream-Mickey was in a relationship with the freckled guy. He wished he had like a gamepad or something and he could control his character in the dreams, like a video game. He would punch himself in the balls every time he tried to do something with Gallagher other than fucking.

And that took him again to the fact that he needed to get laid. He got up from the bed and put on the first jeans and t-shirt he saw on the floor and went to the kitchen. He opened the fridge and took a beer.

“Too soon for alcohol."

Mickey turned around and saw his wife on the sofa. What the fuck was she doing up so early? He thought she was still sleeping, she finished work late last night.

“Fuck off. Ey, do you work today?”

Svetlana was looking at him with a curious look. “Yes."

Mickey grunted. “Which shift?."

“4 to midnight."

As if he hadn’t cursed mentally enough for the day, he did it again. He had hoped to go out that night and hook up with a random guy. But as Svetlana worked as a waitress in a restaurant two kilometers away from home, he had to pick her up every time she had a late shift. That was the deal they made a long time ago. He missed the days when she was a hooker. She worked a couple of blocks away and he was able to go back home on her own.

“What? You want to go for cock-hunt, huh?”

Mickey told her to fuck off because he didn’t mind to repeat himself.

Despite of being gay, Mickey married a woman. It was not a consensual marriage but it prevented him to be murdered by his homophobic prick of a father and they had each other’s backs. He was gay, she was a lesbian. He made his dad believe he was straight and she got the American citizenship. Everybody wins, congra-fucking-lations. In a couple of years they will be able to get the divorce without arousing suspicions, even though they will keep living together in the South Side. Because, let’s be honest, it was the biggest marriage of convenience he has ever heard of. And he didn’t want to get his ass in jail, he had more than enough of that shit in juvie, thank you.

So he changed his mind and left the still closed bottle of beer on the table. Sugar, he needed sugar. The lack of sweet was the origin of every fucking problem in his shitty life. Or at least that what his mantra of some shit. He ate a couple of muffins, drank some black coffee with tons of sugar and took off. He hoped it helped to quit having those dreams.

That night, after picking Svetlana up he went to bed. It had been a rough day at work, so he drifted off to sleep very quickly. The next morning he cursed to death when he felt a huge pain in his head which was replace by the fucking image of Ian Gallagher. Fuck mantras.


	2. Unnatural Selection

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again, thanks Shamelessquestions for the help!

If Ian believed for a moment that he was going to spend a minute of the day thinking on his relationship with Scott, he was fooling himself. There he was, sitting on his desk at work trying to concentrate on his computer screen but failing. That was the third morning he woke up with the headache and the flashes and he had the slight suspicion that he was going crazy. Like his brain wasn’t fucked up enough when he was awake that now it was messing with him while sleeping. 

He sighed and tried to read the e-mail his boss sent him for the fourth time. Ian liked his job. Even though Lip was the one with the best grades in the family, Ian was pretty good at English. So when he finished high school he went to college to study English literature. As soon as he graduated a job offering fell into his lap. But it seemed that there were sales in the human resources department at the time, because Lip got a job as a lawyer in the same company. One year later, he was in Los Angeles writing scripts in a local network for a TV show. It was a lame soap opera for housewives called _Blood Dynasty_ but the paycheck wasn’t shitty at all. Besides, it wasn’t like he was going to write the storyline of a rich as fuck family in which even the mother couldn’t tell who was the biological father of each of her children for much longer. No fucking way. Ian Gallagher had big dreams. And in a few weeks he had a job interview.

But the scriptwriter knew that he needed to sort his shit out first. The only logical idea that came to his mind in the whole amount of time he had been thinking about the dream thing, and it was every fucking moment he stayed awake for the last two days, was telling someone. The problem was that he didn’t know where to start. There was so much information that it was impossible to remember everything of each dream. It was a goddamn week in a few seconds, his brain wasn’t the fucking winrar. Maybe he had to tattoo himself with what he saw in the flashes every morning; like the guy in that Christopher Nolan’s movie.

Ian rubbed his face in desperation and took his phone. Enough with the self-pity, it was time to do something about it. He typed a quick text to Lip asking to meet him at Ian’s after work and prayed to whatever or whoever was up there to make it work. Then he focused his eyes back on the screen of the computer and started to read the e-mail for the fifth time.

 

“I can’t believe you’re even gayer in dreams”. Lip always appeared when he was summoned by Ian, and he appreciated it. But sometimes he couldn’t understand why he loved that asshole so much and turned to him every time he needed some advice. “Fuck you!” Ian was on his sofa sat next to his brother and with a beer on his right hand. “It’s not like I can control myself in the dream, anyway”.  Lip nodded, he knew the feeling. He might have had more than one embarrassing dream in which a pink dress, a pair of heels and a big purse with a dog in it were involved. He even had chills every time he remembered them.

“And you say you know the guy?”

 “Yeah, he worked in the Four Seasons”. Over the past two days, Ian had tried to remember every moment he saw Mickey there. He hoped to find a hint which could explain why he was obsessed with him seven fucking years later. But basically, it was always the same thing, having lunch. Except a couple of times. On those occasions, Ian was sent to take something from the kitchen by his supervisor and Mickey was concentrated on his job chopping onions or carrots or any other vegetable available. So no interaction at all.

“What’s his name?” the question made Ian snap out of his thoughts and scratched his brow.

“Mickey Milkovich”.

Lip went blank. “Holy shit! Mickey Milkovich as Terry Milkovich’s son?” Now it was Ian’s turn to freak out like a virgin at prom night. “What?”

“Yeah, you know, that piece of homophobic trash who’s always in and out of the can” A bunch of _fucks_ filled the red haired man’s mind.

“I didn’t know he had a son named Mickey. I thought he was a distant relative or something. The Milkoviches are a huge family, dude.”

Lip left his beer on the coffee table after taking a sip and clapped his hands. “Well, I guess you like them rough”. Ian flipped him the bird and continued cursing. “You’ll survive, my brother. I used to fuck the daughter and I’m still here bugging you every day, right?” The lawyer’s hand was on his shoulder trying to comfort him. Despite the efforts, Ian couldn’t help feeling tense. That fucking situation was beyond him and he had the paranoid and uneasy feeling in his chest that those dreams were going to be the cause of his death.

“Yeah, but last time I checked, Mandy was a girl. This is me balls deep in his son”.

Lip closed his eyes making a disgust face. After all the shit Ian had revealed to him since he found out his brother was gay, he didn’t get why Lip still felt uncomfortable at every mention of gay sex. He was used to hearing all about it when his older sibling screwed a girl. “Fuck Ian! I didn’t need that image in my brain”.

They continued drinking their beers filling the air with silence. The talk with his brother was supposed to make him feel better, but up to that moment, he just felt more fucked up than before. In the end, that’s what brothers are for, right? “Do you have any appointment with you shrink anytime soon?”

Ian turned his head towards Lip and pulled a face. He knew it. His brother thought he was going crazier. “Tomorrow, why?”

 “Look man, I don’t know shit about dreams but people always say that they have meanings. You know, the psyche and all that crap. Maybe he could help you to figure out what’s going on”. And that what the exact moment when Ian remembered why he loved that asshole so much.

 

When Ian arrived in L.A. finding a psychiatrist became a challenge for him. Every doctor he visited was a waste of his time. Either they treated him like a child, or if he was a piece of fine china or they were very expensive. Where the fuck did that people get their degrees anyway? From a fucking cereal box? In that case, he had wasted his time and money going to college; he should have invested in Kellogg’s instead. So the moment he met Dr. Turner was like finding heaven.

Ian was sitting on the chair in front of the psychiatrist waiting for a reaction. He had already told him all about the dreams. Well, not all of them. He skipped the parts where Dream-Ian fucks Mickey, which is most of the time they spent together in the dreams apparently. That morning he had woken up with the biggest boner ever. It was embarrassingly painful and he almost fainted when the headache joined the party. The visions from the dream made his dick growing harder if that was even possible. His body reacted to the images of sweat, jizz, blue eyes, strong and pale hands tracing his torso, wet lips around his cock and his prick in Mickey’s perfect ass. And don’t forget about the noises. All those moans and groans made Ian’s lungs fail. Apart from going to work and buying some groceries, that was pretty much what happened in that night’s week. When the flashes stopped, Ian reacted in the only humanly possible way. He jerked off right there in the bed. Twice.

“Everything okay with Scott?” Out of all the possible reactions he could have expected from the doctor, Ian didn’t see that one coming. And he made it clear looking at the psychiatrist with confused eyes. “Mmm… not really”. To be honest, he had thought on his boyfriend that morning for the first time since he had the second dream. And he had done it because he felt guilty after masturbating with the image of someone else. It was funny that he felt bad about it but not because of dreaming about having a different man as a boyfriend every night. “Maybe your mind is encouraging you to end with the relationship with him”. Ian laughed internally at Dr.Turner’s words, he didn’t want to offend him. But he could externalize the irony of what the psychiatrist had said. “Believe me, I don’t need encouragement to break up with that douchebag”. He still wanted to kick him in the balls for being such a shithead with him.

The scriptwriter knew there was something else in the dreams. Like a connection. It wouldn’t bug him so much if he simply dreamt with the same person every night. That would explain that he had an obsession, like the crazy woman from _Fatal Attraction_. Closed case, moving on. But this was different. Everything was so normal and nothing of the surroundings changed. He had the same neighbors, co-workers even the postman was the same old dude with the same horrible uniform in each fucking dream. So he asked. Even if it was stupid, but he needed to know. “Could it be a kind of… ability?” The last word was pronounced so weakly that Ian could have thought the other man didn’t hear it. But his shocked old face made the red haired believe the opposite. “Such as being able to make a connection with someone in dreams?” his left eyebrow was raised waiting for an answer from his patient. Ian nodded very slowly trying to prevent his cheeks from getting red.

They made eye contact for a few seconds. Maybe Dr. Turner was examining Ian. Perhaps he was figuring out if it was a joke or not. Fuck, Ian himself would have thought he was being mocked if someone had told him all that shit. Finally, after a few more seconds, the psychiatrist sighed. “Look kid, those dreams you’re having are very strange but I can assure you they have nothing to do with the evolution or Darwin. Neither with your disorder. It’s just coincidence. Your brain is definitely trying to tell you something. A piece of information kept in your mind that just doesn’t come out. Maybe there’s an unresolved issue with this Mickey that you can’t recall. There’s nothing wrong with you, Ian”.

The patient released a breath in relieve. At least he knew his head wasn´t frying. He have been imagining the brain mass disintegrating like those plastic soldiers his younger brother Carl used to melt with the toaster. An awful image he never wanted to see again. “So, what should I do with that? How do I make them stop?” Ian moved on the chair. He had been sitting there for a long time and he was experiencing the literal meaning of the phrase a pain in the ass. The doctor cleared his throat before speaking. Ian could tell he wasn’t the only one uncomfortable in the room. However, the older man’s discomfort wasn’t physical. “I must say that I don’t know any other case like yours and I’ve never heard of it before. But I suggest you to get in touch with Mickey and talk to him. Don’t mention the dreams because you can make him feel uncomfortable. Just try to discover the source of your issue with him. It shouldn’t be difficult. Do you think you can do it?”

 

Ian said yes. Of fucking course he did it. He was so desperate to find a solution that he would have agreed to take the one ring to Mount Doom in Mordor in order to destroy it if that would make the dreams disappear. He wasn’t thinking on the consequences as he spoke. So two hours later he was sitting on his couch with his laptop on his thighs looking right at Mickey Milkovich’s facebook account. Ian was on a trance, his green eyes hovering over that name. So it was true. Mickey wasn’t a person his imagination had made up. Certainly he already knew that the other man wasn’t an invention, they worked at the same place and Lip knew who he was. But there was always a little spark of doubt that made him wonder if they were just dreams and everything was a product of his mind. Nevertheless, despite the lack of profile photo, Ian was witnessing the 2.0 proof of Mickey Milkovich’s existence.

What surprised Ian the most was how easily he found Mickey on internet. But giving it a second thought, typing _Mickey Milkovich Chicago South Side_ had been a smart move. Right into the bullseye. Now the big step was sending the friend request. He didn’t know how the fuck he was going to do it. The guy he dreamt with was the son of the most homophobic man he had ever known. And if he had hesitated whether Mickey was gay or not when he first saw the dark haired man in the hotel, after he learnt who his father was Ian knew for sure he’d bash his head against the coffee table just because he thought Mickey looked good.

Ian sighed. He had to do it. He had to get to the bottom of the issue and rip it out of his head. After almost half an hour staring at the screen like an idiot, a wave of bravery possessed him. He closed his eyes and pressed the friend request button. It was done. He might have just signed his death sentence, but he would deal with it later. For now, he was going to bed and fuck that precious ass in his dreams. He would improvise the next day, after jerking off.

 

\-------------------------

 

Mickey thought he had found two possible reasons which explain why he became Ian Gallagher’s bitch every night. Either he was going crazy or he had to look for Leonardo Dicaprio and the pregnant chick from Juno in the dreams because his life was the fucking _Inception_ movie. Fuck Christopher Nolan. He only knew the name because he directed the _The Dark Knight_ trilogy and those films had two things Mickey liked too much: Batman and Christian Bale’s naked torso.

But whether he was right or not, it didn’t erase the fury he felt inside. The dreams were always in his head. Pounding like a fucking hammer. Filling his days with that stupid goofy smile, those bare freckled shoulders or his insanely perfect abs. Mickey shook his head, he had to stop doing that. A war was taking place in his head and his shitty brain was fighting against him. Mickey felt betrayed at the very least. That morning he was at work trying to fix a car the owner insisted in repairing instead of getting rid of that junk while Ian’s cock was hovering over him. Figuratively, of course. He had to take his break and lock the bathroom door so he could masturbate. Because jacking off and fingering himself was all he did since he watched Ian Gallagher’s naked body for the first time in dreams. He had permanent blue balls and that shit was fucking exhausting. Al least the fucker had a huge dick and pounded his ass like a champ.

However, the more sex Dream-Mickey had the more girly things he made. Cuddling, holding hands and kissing were unknown verbs for Mickey. Deep down, he was jealous of his parallel self. Dream-Mickey could be himself, he didn’t have to live a lie. The real one had never kissed a man and the last kiss he remembered was the one at his wedding. And it was a lame.

It was the afternoon after the fifth dream and he was heading home. It was raining but Mickey had decided to walk because the garage wasn’t far from the house where he lived and also because he needed a smoke. His hair was damp and droplets fell through his pale cheeks. But he didn’t mind, he was planning on taking a shower as soon as he arrived home anyway. He hated the fact that he loved how his blue eyes shined when the crystalline rain covered his face.

He was just a couple of blocks away and his pocket started to vibrate. He didn’t need to check the ID caller, Mickey knew who was the jerk interrupting his relaxing moment. “What do you want, skank?” Despite of being an insult, the word was full of affection. “Hello to you too, dickhead”. The black haired man smiled. How couldn’t he? It was his sister Mandy calling. His favorite person in the world, for who he would go to hell just to kick asses if some fucking bastard hurt her. “Where are you?” “About to arrive home. Why?” Mickey turned the corner and the old house he shared with his wife came into view. “Just I feel like skyping with my brother”

Mandy had moved to New York a couple of years ago. If there was any Milkovich that could make it out of the South Side, that was his only sister. Well, he had a step-sister or maybe she was a he, he wasn’t sure and didn’t care. As to his brothers, either they had knocked some girl up or were enjoying a stint in jail. Mickey was aware since his mother died that he was cursed for life and accepted his fate the day he was forced to marry Svetlana. “Hurry up, I want to see your ugly face before leaving for work”. “Jesus, hold your fucking horses, bitch. I’m already opening the door”. He had been always fascinated how easily was for her sister to change his mood. From _I want to hug you until your bones break_ to _I want to slap you so hard that there’s going to be a hole in the wall with the shape of your head_ in just a second.

His wife was at the restaurant so he went directly to get the laptop from the dining room and took it to his bedroom with him. It was a shitty computer he stole ages ago. It was so old that by the time it started you could have become grandfather. So he continued chatting with Mandy. It didn’t take so long this time because he forgot to switch it off completely last night. His facebook account was what first appeared on the screen. Mickey didn’t like social networks but he admits they’re very useful while tracking people down. A guy owed him 300 dollars and it was time to pay back. He couldn’t find him at home or at work. So before going to bed, he checked his and his friends’ profiles searching for a hint about his location.

What the mechanic didn’t expect at all was a notification of friend request. He laughed loudly and told Mandy to fuck off when she stated she was hearing a miracle. Who the fuck wanted to befriend him? And more important, who was stupid enough to do it on facebook? Mickey didn’t have friends, he knew people. Period. Maybe he could say Svetlana was the closest he had to a friend but that was only the result of some tragic circumstances. Whoever was had some balls and Mickey was way too interested in balls. So his curiosity won and clicked just to laugh at the asshole’s profile picture.

He felt his bladder relax and for the first time in his life he had to contract his muscles to avoid peeing himself.  Like a fucking poltergeist, Ian Gallagher’s image was on the goddamned screen. His mobile phone fell from his hand and he barely heard the thud noise of the impact against the wood. He stared at the laptop with his blue eyes out of his orbits and his jaw on the floor. He didn’t feel embarrassed for the scream his mouth involuntary released because he was too busy freaking the fuck out.

As soon as he snapped out of it, he gathered the phone with his still shaking hand. “I gotta go Mandy. Call you tomorrow”. He ignored her sister’s complaints and insults and hung up. Mickey sat on the verge of the bed and pronounced a bunch of _fuck_ in a row. What the fuck? How was it even possible? Was it a kind of a joke? No, it wasn’t. He didn’t mention the dreams to anybody. Fuck, only his sister and his wife knew he was gay. He wasn’t going to confess he sucked Gallagher’s dick every night to a random someone. So, what the fucking fuck was that?

After pacing on his room for an unknown amount of time, he heard Svetlana slamming the front door. Mickey quickly closed the computer and went to the living room trying to play it cool. “You okay?” His wife was looking at him with concern, he definitely was bad at pretending. “Yeah, just tired”. She nodded and went to her room.

His eyes were still wide open in shock when they were eating the restaurant’s leftovers for dinner. Svetlana was staring at him carefully but she didn’t say a word. And he thanked her quietly for it. Once they had cleared the table, he came back to his room.

Mickey had always been known for being the neighborhood thug. He had been afraid of one thing in his life. His name was Terry and, unfortunately, was his father. But now he was scared of what was happening to him. He didn’t understand why he felt that connection with Gallagher. Mickey rubbed a hand through his face and sighed. He took a few steps and opened the laptop again. After a couple of minutes, he focused his gaze on Ian’s photo. It was a black and white picture and his hair was longer than seven years ago. The mechanic thought it was a pity he couldn’t see the green of his eyes because they were gorgeous. He didn’t need it, though, Ian’s look was the same he had in the dreams. He had to scratch the going crazy from the possible reasons list because definitely, that shit was real.

And staring at the picture of Ian, Mickey realized that he needed to know, to understand. And above all, he was certain that he didn’t want to be scared any more. So he took a deep breath and accepted the friend request.  Well, now he knew for sure that he was fucked.


	3. Fire and the Thud

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is unbeta'd. You might find some mistakes as English is not my first language, so I apologize in advance for that.  
> If you see any, just let me know :)

Out of all the people Mickey knew, he only fully trusted in one person. That’s why he always called Mandy when he felt lonely or needed to talk. However, he would always regret the way he confessed his biggest secret to her.

His father had just found out and Mickey was badly injured. The mechanic was certain that he was going to die. He had reasons for it. He could feel the drops of blood dripping from his body. When Mandy found him, a big pool of the warm and red liquid was dying the wooden floor.

Maybe he did it because he couldn’t stand the pain in the heartbreaking cries of his sister. Perhaps it was the effects of the loss of blood, or the fact that he believed he wasn’t going to make it and he had nothing to lose. But when his head was hold with two gentle hands and looked at those crying blue eyes he knew so well, he did it.

“I’m gay.”

Mickey saw the shock on Mandy’s face and he felt his heart being torn apart at the thought that his sister would be disgusted by him. He could have never been so wrong. She caressed his bloody cheek with her thumb and nodded before hugging him. Now he felt as a piece of trash for thinking Mandy would be like his father. He always knew that she was better than all of them. At that moment, he regretted not telling her his secret much earlier, without despair in his words. Just because he wanted her to know.   

That’s why Mickey cut his soul in half the moment he lied to his sister five years later. It was a simple question and he could have redeemed himself from that previous time. Because Mickey had another secret, but he decided to stumble over the same stone twice. Men are creatures of habit, after all.

“Why did you hung up on me yesterday, asshole?”

Mandy was clearly pissed. Mickey snorted because, when was the last time when his fucking sister didn’t ask? He loved Mandy, but she was annoying as hell. However, he missed being teased the way she only did. Like that time she bought a leopard thong for him after learning he liked taking it up the ass. “ _Wear this and you would have more cocks rubbing your butt than at a fucking pride parade_ ” she had said while his brother looked at her with a grimace. His response was a colorful pile of words similar to _go fuck yourself_ or _bitch_.

He smiled lightly at the memory before focusing on answering his sister. Mickey looked at the screen and met Mandy’s face. Her lips were pursed and moved her chin upwards quickly when he took his time to think.

“Because I found out where the douchebag I was looking for was hidden. The motherfucker learnt last night that he can’t fuck with me and get away with it.”

There it was. The first lie. The mechanic bit his lip and took his gaze away from his sister. He had been meditating about telling Mandy the truth and he decided to do it. But contrary to what he had determined, when the chips were down, he chickened out.

“Don’t play dumb with me.” The dark haired woman was even angrier than before. Of course she didn’t believe him. She was a Milkovich, for fuck’s sake. She knew her brother better than anyone else. They had fought with each other since they learnt to walk. And she could tell when his brother was lying. “I heard your girly yell. You screamed like an old queen pretending to be on the rag.”

“It wasn’t me, bitch. It was the TV.”

The first time he lied, it was an act by force of habits. But the second was totally conscious and he felt something breaking inside of him the moment he pronounced the words. He felt it in his bones. Mickey tasted the bitter flavor of disappointment in his tongue. Or maybe it was blood. Besides, it was the lamest excuse ever. Who the fuck would have believed that stupid shit?

“Whatever. I know you’re lying to me and I don’t get why. But I guess that’s your fucking problem.” Mandy saw the invisible line from where she needed to stop pushing. She knew for sure not telling her what was going on was more painful for the man than for her. “Damn right it’s my problem. So fuck off.”

The woman took a sharp breath and uncrossed her arms which were under her chest. She wasn’t planning on taking more shit from her brother, so she dropped the issue and changed the subject.

“I’m still waiting for your visit, you know? Even Iggy has come to see me before you.”

Mickey missed her sister as much as she missed him. And he feel like shit for not going to New York, but either he didn’t have the time or he had run out of money. The 300 bucks that guy owed him crossed his mind. Maybe he could buy a bus ticket once he got them back and go to see his sister one weekend. Although, it would take a while, that fucker was hard to find. The bitch could come to the South Side if she wanted to see his fucking face, anyways.

“Some of us have to work, unlike our dumbass brother.”

“That’s not the point.”

And it wasn’t. He had already pulled enough shit on her. He didn’t want to make her angrier. Mandy could be a big pain in the ass when she’s pissed off.

“Alright, Jesus. I promise I’ll go. Don’t know when yet, but I’ll try my fucking best”.

 

It was Saturday and he had stayed in bed until late. As the previous days, he had had the headache when he woke up. However, the pain wasn’t as intense as it was the first days. Or maybe it was just that he was used to it. Dream-Mickey still lived in his house officially, but he curled up with Ian every night. They hadn’t settled where they slept, but it was kind of an unwritten rule that they went to wherever was closer by when they were in a hurry to fuck or they were tired.

In a way, the real Mickey was proud of his other self’s sex life. He had found a big quality dick, with a perfect body and a great ability to make him scream his name in bed. Relationships weren’t his thing. He was married to a woman and he got fucked by men as often as he could. _Fuck monogamy_ was kind of a motto for him. However, something new was running through his veins. A shadow of jealousy every time he saw the flashes. Mickey noticed it, but he would fuck you up if you would ask about it.

Skyping with Mandy wasn’t the only reason why he took the old computer that afternoon. He hated that the first thing he did when the laptop started was logging in on facebook. The itchy feeling he had since he accepted the friend request the previous night was betraying him. That fucking traitor brain of his was playing again.

The conversation with his sister had finished a couple of hours ago and he found himself staring at the screen like an idiot. He thanked the gods his drool didn’t run through his chin while his mind was wondering where the fuck Gallagher and his perfect ass were. He spent more time thinking on the butt itself, to be honest.

When his stomach complaint, he went to the kitchen to eat a snack. He opened directly the cabinet where the snickers bars were stored. Tragedy shook Mickey’s life when his eyes realized there weren’t any left. That whore he had for a wife ate the last one and forgot to buy some more. Well, now they had a fucking problem. He fiercely bit a square of chocolate and open the fridge to grab a beer. It tasted good but nothing could compare to caramel and peanuts mixed with chocolate. Just when he was about to take the first sip, Svetlana walked through the door.

“Ay, what is your fucking problem?” Mickey could see the exhaustion in his wife. They were the bags under her eyes and her paler color skin which gave her away. It was already spring, but the cold had not left Chicago yet. So the Russian woman rose her right hand in confusion while she untangled the scarf from her neck with the other one.

“I had to eat shitty chocolate because you took the last snickers bar. They were mine!”

Mickey had decided to elaborate. Because when it came to his favorite snacks being consumed by someone other than him, he wasn’t fast enough to make clear nobody touched his most precious belongings. He was ready to pee on the goddamn snickers bars like a dog just to mark his territory.

“I had a whim and no time to go to the store. Don’t be a piece of shit husband”.

The mechanic sighed. He didn’t know at what point he started to care for that woman, but he did. He really didn’t mind to share his sweets with her, and for him that was a huge gesture. After all they presumably were spending their life together. Till the fucking death do they part, that’s what the priest or whoever asshole his father hired said.

“Just buy some next time you’ll go for groceries if you take the last one”.

Svetlana nodded slowly with a smile. Mickey thought his wife was a beautiful woman. Like him, she had had a hard life and that made her strong. The brunette wouldn’t hesitate to stab you with a screwdriver the moment you tried to fuck with her. And that was, doubtlessly, something Mickey had respect for.

He followed his wife to the kitchen, sat on one of the chairs and lit a cigarette while she filled a glass with tap water. When she had gulped the liquid, she turned around.

“Where is the laptop?”

“In my bedroom.”

Svetlana took another swig and licked her lips once she finished.

“I need it.”

Mickey felt the nicotine in his lungs and breathed out the smoke through his nostrils. He looked very calm but in reality, the thought of Gallagher going online when he wasn’t stuck on the keyboard made him anxious.

“Yeah. That’s not gonna happen.”

“I want to speak with my family”. Svetlana was stubborn, but not as much as her husband was.

“With who? With the fuckers who sold you for 300 bucks?”

Mickey had put the smoke out and was standing in front of her. Svetlana snorted and rolled her eyes.

“That was my father. I want to talk with my mother and brothers.”

“No fucking way. I’m using it.”

The Russian took a step forward but Mickey blocked her way. She tried again but the man stopped her once more. Considering the mechanic was short he had his methods to look taller. Svetlana narrowed her eyes and you could bet Mickey recognized a challenge when he saw it. Immediately, the husband turned around and started to run towards his bedroom. Svetlana followed very closely through the corridor and grabbed Mickey’s foot on the stairs. His chin met the step and he bit the inside of his cheek.

“Fucking whore.”

“Suck on that, cocksucker!”

Mickey got up quickly and resumed running. He didn’t care they looked like two five-year-old children fighting for a fucking dinosaur toy, they had a target and none of them was backing off. Hell no.

Mickey was the first to get in the room. He practically jumped over the pile of dirty clothes on the floor and landed on the desk. His head hit the window glass but he would remember to curse about it later. No time for that shit. The black haired closed the laptop and clutched it to his chest.

“It’s mine bitch. Mine!”

The man was standing on the chair trying not to lose his grip while his wife was staring at him. Her eyes were not furious, they were in shock. Mickey was aware that he looked like the goddamn Gollum but he didn’t give a fuck.

“You win. But tomorrow is my day off. If I don’t get the computer, I will cut your throat while sleeping.”

After that, she was gone. And the mechanic couldn’t help but feeling more strongly than ever that he was losing it. And Ian Gallagher himself was the one to blame.

 

It was already late and Mickey had been nodding off for a while when he heard a chime coming from the speakers of the laptop. He rose his head almost violently and looked at the screen. A small window had popped up with the name of Ian Gallagher and a short message on it.

**Ian Gallagher:** Hi!

So the time had come and Mickey didn’t have the slight idea what he was going to do. He stood up and paced on his bedroom for a couple of minutes. What was he going to say? He wasn’t a sociable person but he was certain that _“Ey! I dream you fuck my ass every night and I jerk off when I wake up. Do you know why?”_ wasn’t the best way to initiate a conversation. The black haired man finally decided to act as he didn’t know who Ian was. After all, it was the redhead who had sent the fucking friend request, right?

**Mickey Milkovich:** Who the fuck are you?

Mickey hoped he hadn’t been too rude. Usually, he didn’t mind to care about the other person’s feelings when he spoke, but he needed something from this person desperately. Some information that helped him to understand why he had those dreams. And maybe his cock too. Yeah, that would be great.

**Ian Gallagher:** It’s Ian Gallagher.

**Mickey Milkovich:** Yeah, I can read that, you know?

**Ian Gallagher:** We worked in the Four Seasons at the same time.

**Mickey Milkovich:** Oh, I remember. You’re the ginger dickhead who always greeted at the cafeteria. 

**Ian Gallagher:** I also went to high school with Mandy.

Mickey’s heart sank a little bit at the mention of his sister’s name. He was fooling himself every time he had thought he was the cause of Ian contacting him. Of course Gallagher talking to him had nothing to do with the mechanic, but with Mandy.

**Mickey Milkovich:** If you’re one of those creeps who want to bang my sister you can go fuck yourself.

**Ian Gallagher:** What??? No, I don’t want to fuck Mandy. I just said it so you knew I’m from the neighborhood.

The black haired man relaxed his jaw and took a deep breath. The situation was way more difficult than he had imagined and he was getting anxious. He decided to give the conversation a push.

**Mickey Milkovich:** So what the fuck do you want, Gallagher?

Mickey waited for a couple of minutes and the screen showed no answer to his question. He got to the point when you think of two options: either the other person didn’t get the message or he just didn’t want to talk to you anymore. The mechanic even went to the living room to check the router worked. And it did. Fuck, probably he had been too harsh on the other man and Ian had just lost interest in chatting with him.

He was hitting his head repeatedly against his bedroom wall when the noise which announced a new message filled the air. Mickey tripped over the dirty clothes before he managed to reach the desk.

**Ian Gallagher:** I was just catching up with the guys from the hotel and I realized I talked with all of them but you. You were always quiet to me. And I wonder if I ever did something to you.

The mechanic rose his two eyebrows. If he didn’t know better, he had thought Ian Gallagher had made that up.

**Mickey Milkovich:** Man, if you had done something to me you would be rooting in a coffin six feet under the ground.

**Ian Gallagher:** Are you sure?

**Mickey Milkovich:** Christ, yes. If you don’t believe me ask Nick, the porter.

**Ian Gallagher:** Why him?

**Mickey Milkovich:** He stole my jello, I stabbed him with a fork.

**Ian Gallagher:** No shit!

**Mickey Milkovich:** Yeah man. Nobody steals my jello.

But Svetlana, apparently. He took a moment to think on how things had changed in a few years.

**Ian Gallagher:** He had it coming. He’s a fucking asshole.

Mickey smiled. Ian wasn’t a total jerk after all. They continued talking about the hotel sharing some anecdotes such as that time when Ian spat in a rich man’s drink after the customer had called him South Side scum. It was already two in the morning when the read haired man announced he had to leave. The two men didn’t agree to talk some other day; they simply said goodbye and Mickey saw the offline status on Ian’s profile. He left the laptop on the living room so Svetlana could use it in the morning and he went to sleep.

 

They didn’t need to set a time. Every night Mickey found Ian on facebook and they chatted for hours until their heads crashed against the keyboards. After the first day, they ran out of stories about the hotel to tell, so they moved to talk about their lives. Ian revealed he was in L.A. writing scripts for a soap opera Mickey knew. “ _Do you write that shit? Oh man, I watched it once. I thought it was written by some meth junkies. You really started at the bottom of your profession”_. And the mechanic confessed he was married to Svetlana which he found weird to tell him when normally wasn’t. Maybe it was because in dreams they were together and in real life he was pretending to be straight to the man he had sex with every night in a parallel world or dimension or whatever the fuck it was.

But really, talking to Ian Gallagher was easy.

It was Friday again and after almost a week spending the nights with Gallagher, and not only in dreams, Mickey was exhausted. His days were basically waking up, watching the flashes, jerking off, working, having dinner with Svetlana, chatting with Ian and sleeping. That was all. The more he knew Ian the more he felt a connection with him. Maybe he hadn’t still found out why he had the dreams, but he spent his days looking forward to starting the laptop and logging in on facebook. And that freaked him out.

That night, after they had said their goodbyes, Mickey laid on his bed. He couldn’t hide the smile that ginger fucker had provoked. Ian had to go to work next day, even if it was a Saturday and it was three in the morning when he decided to log out. The scriptwriter had told him it was his fault he wasn’t already sleeping so he was going to get back at Mickey texting him at half past seven in the morning. No fucking way Mickey was going to let Gallagher ruin his sleep, that’s why the switch off button was invented.

But the thought of Ian waking up early and thinking on Mickey, even if it was for revenge, made something inside of him move. His hand ran through his chest and arrived at the hem of his pants. He sighed blissfully when his fingers touched the skin of his dick. He began to thrust in his hand with slow but firm motions. This time he didn’t have to remember the flashes or the sex he had in the dreams. Because for the first time, he was picturing the Ian he had met seven years ago and the black and white photo he stared at for hours before sleeping. He touched himself with the real Ian splashing in his eyelids.

 

_________________________

 

Ian grunted when he arrived at the office. He wasn’t the only jerk who had to make extra hours because he didn’t finish his job on time but it didn’t make him feel better. He looked around him. Definitely he was the only one who had to be there on a Saturday morning by obligation. The others were the douchebags known for kissing the boss’ ass. Ian sighed. He had reached the bottom and Mickey was the one to blame.

Over the past two weeks he had witnessed his dream self falling in love with Mickey and he couldn’t help wondering if he was experiencing the same feeling. Maybe the two Ians were linked somehow. Perhaps their minds were connected in a way their bodies weren’t able to.

But not everything was so perfect. He still didn’t know why he had the dreams. The other man continued being the son of a prick who would kill him for the way he was and Mickey was married to a woman.

When he read the word _wife_ a wave of cold ran through his veins and his heart stopped for a moment. Because Mickey was someone else’s. He hadn’t understood the lack of air in his lungs at the thought. However, days later, he knew the answer. He might dream with a parallel Mickey, but it was the real one who made him laugh before going to bed, whose name he screamed when he came hard on his hand and it was definitely his image the last thought he had before falling sleep. Ian couldn’t say if he would regret or not sending the friend request. What he was sure of was that he wouldn’t deny that talking to Mickey made him happy.

Ian left his briefcase on his desk and went to the coffee machine to get a hot beverage. He’d better stop thinking about Mickey and start working. Like hell he was going to get out of there later than those other assholes. He was nobody’s bitch and he was sure as fuck he didn’t want to be mistaken as one of his boss’.

 

He managed to finish before midday which gave him more time to spend chatting with Mickey. He had just arrived at his apartment when he heard a knock. Probably it was Lip. He always came to visit when his fridge was empty. He didn’t know how take-out food worked or that was what he wanted Ian to believe. Ian was never so naive. He didn’t expect at all who he met at the door.

“Can I come in?”

Scott was the one who broke the silence. He seemed nervous judging by how his hands were fidgeting. Ian cursed mentally. He wasn’t ready at all for whatever his boyfriend was going to say.

“Yes. Do you want a beer?”

Ian moved to sit on the couch after Scott refused the offer. The blonde stood in front of his boyfriend staring at him in silence.

“I recall telling you to give me some space”. Ian spoke slowly trying to make himself clear. He reached the pack of cigarettes from the coffee table and lit one of them.

“It’s been two weeks. I need an answer”.

That was more than enough bullshit for Ian. He stood up quickly and faced his boyfriend with flames going out of his mouth. He was fed up with demands, commands and extortion from his partner. “What the fuck is wrong with you?”

The red haired man had a _déjà vu_ of Scott blinking with his brow furrowed thirteen days ago. The same reaction at Ian suggesting he was doing something wrong. Ian Gallagher was each minute more and more convinced that Scott believed he was an innocent angel fallen from heaven. Narcissistic prick.

“You’re always pushing and telling people what to do. If you don’t get what you want, you throw a temper tantrum like a fucking five-year-old who wants a new dinosaur toy.”

“Do you call me a child when it’s you who never cared for this relationship? Who is not man enough to move in with his partner?”

That was it. Scott had pulled the trigger with the gun aimed at his head. The fucking idiot believed he could go to Ian’s place and treat him like shit. Fuck kicking him in the balls! Ian was going to rip them off. Scott had a _Dead Man Walking_ sign right on his crotch. The redhead hadn’t thought on his boyfriend in almost two weeks, he clearly didn’t love him anymore. When you spend that amount of time getting off imagining yourself sucking another guy’s cock, you know your relationship is a charade. So Ian didn’t hesitate to blurt out what he had wanted to say for a while.

“Fuck you, asshole! We’re done!”

Ian grabbed Scott fiercely by the t-shirt and led him towards the entrance. They finally reached the threshold and the blonde felt a push between his shoulder blades that sent him to the landing. Due to the impulse, he tripped over his own feet and fell on his back. Ian almost laughed at the vision of that jackass with his leg and arms up in the air moving like a fucking cockroach. Scott looked at his now ex-boyfriend in shock. He couldn’t believe Ian was throwing him out of his life. He had the belief that his ass shitted gold.

“Get out from my apartment and go fuck yourself!”

Once said that, Ian closed the door so hard that he could hear some cracking. He showed how much he cared taking a drag of the cigarette. It was a miracle it had survived after all.

Even though he felt relieved after getting rid of Scott, Ian saw the control of his life dripping from the tips of his fingers. He needed to get the steering wheel on his hands again because he was running down a hill with no breaks.

So when he made his mind, the redhead texted Mickey. Five minutes later he was tapping incessantly the arm of the couch waiting for the mechanic to get online.

**Ian Gallagher:** Took you long enough.

**Mickey Milkovich:** Yeah, this piece of trash didn’t want to work.

Ian didn’t want to take more time. He had summoned Mickey to confess. The other man had to know what was happening to Ian.

**Ian Gallagher:** I have something to tell you.

**Mickey Milkovich:** Okay, shoot.

The scriptwriter took a deep breath. He didn’t want to think about the consequences because he didn’t need to. He was sure there was a connection between Mickey and him, and the mechanic couldn’t deny it.

**Ian Gallagher:** I lied the first time we chat when I told you why I had searched you on facebook.

**Mickey Milkovich:** What the fuck, man?

**Ian Gallagher:** The truth is that a couple of weeks ago I dreamt with you for the first time. We met just outside my apartment and up until now I have dreamt with you every night. Each night begins where the previous one finished.

For a couple of minutes there was no response and Ian feared the connection failed. He crawled to the router, which was next to the TV and checked it was working.

**Ian Gallagher:** This has to mean something. Please tell me this means something.

Ian was terrified. He might have committed the worst mistake in his life.  Fuck, he could picture Mickey freaking out in front of the screen. What the fuck Ian? What were you thinking? Either the dark haired man was sending an ambulance with the nearest nuthouse as destination or he was buying a ticket for L.A. to give him the beating of his life.

**Mickey Milkovich:** You had to open you fucking faggot mouth and spoil everything, right?

**Ian Gallagher:** Mickey, please, I’m not crazy.

**Mickey Milkovich:** Yes, you fucking are. You think we’re boyfriend and girlfriend? I’m not a fucking pole smoker.

**Ian Gallagher:** I didn’t say that. Please, Mickey.

**Mickey Milkovich:** Talk to me again and I’ll rip your head off.

The only action his brain processed was staring at the screen with wide eyes. Mickey’s status had gone offline a while ago when Ian reacted. Then, he realized the damaged was not only inside him. Small pieces of glass were scattered all over the floor and he might have to buy a painting to hide the new hole in the wall.

 

Ian ran as fast as he could. In one minute he was banging on his brother’s door. Lip revealed himself with a baseball bat fiercely attached to his hands over his shoulder ready to kill and a cigarette between his lips.

“What the fuck, man? I thought you were one of those asshole kids who think waking up people is funny.”

The youngest sibling left his problems on a side for a moment and took in the scene in front of him. “Wow! Don’t you think you’re overreacting here?”

The lawyer sent his brother a very enigmatic look and Ian thought for a moment that he had entered in another dimension. “Nobody fucks my _siesta_ , dude”.

Lip stepped aside and let Ian walk into his apartment. It was a few blocks away from the youngest man, that’s why he arrived so quickly. Ian sat down on the coach and hung his head between his legs.

“Ian, what’s wrong?” The lawyer could see his brother was in distress. He placed the baseball bat on one of the corners and put the smoke out before sitting by his side.

“I fucked it up. I fucked everything with him up.”

“With Scott?”

Ian lifted his head and gazed at Lip with confusion all over his face. “What? Scott? No, I dumped that asswipe.”

“Really?” Ian nooded. “Fucking Finally! That dude is a fucking creep. I will never understand what the hell you saw in him”.

“Not his dick, I needed a microscope every time we fucked.”

A big laugher escaped form Lip’s mouth. However, it became bitter when he glanced his brother’s anxious state.

“So who is he?”

“Mickey” his voice was low and hoarse when Ian pronounced the name. The lawyer rose his both eyebrows and took a minute before speaking again.

“Mickey Milkovich?”

“Yes, Jesus, who many Mickeys do you know?” Ian felt guilty for talking to his brother that way. It wasn’t Lip’s fault, nor Mickey’s. It was only his. “I told him about the dreams and he freaked out. Told me never talk to him again.”

“Wait, hold on. I think I missed some chapters here. When the fuck did you start chatting with him?” Lip stood up and went to the kitchen. A few seconds later, he brought two cokes, one on each of his hands.

Ian took one of them and opened it. He let the gas bubbles ran through his throat and sighed when he felt the familiar tickle. “About one week. We talked every night for hours, Lip. There is something between us. I can feel it.”

“Fuck him! Seriously.” Lip was visibly mad and Ian couldn’t tell if it was because Mickey had rejected him or because Ian had feelings for the South Side’s thug. “Go out and find someone new. But please, do us a favor and leave the magnet for assholes at home.”

“That’s the problem Lip”. Ian’s mouth was pursed. He tried to gulp the knot in his throat and steady his shaking chin. “I think there won’t be someone new for me. Just Mickey.”

 

Ian stayed that night at Lip’s. His older brother was worried and he wanted to keep an eye on him. Besides, Ian didn’t feel like going outside. The oldest man had tried to cheer him up watching a couple of action films together but it was unsuccessful.

By midnight, Ian was already staring at the roof of the living room fidgeting under the blankets. The couch was comfortable; it wasn’t the reason why he wasn’t able to sleep.

He had been torturing himself replaying the conversation with Mickey over and over in his head. He couldn’t believe he had been such a fucking idiot for thinking Mickey would understand. What was happening with his dreams wasn’t normal. He was the first to freak out and tell himself he was going crazier. Why the fuck would Mickey react in a better way? At least he didn’t confess the mechanic that it was Mickey who took it in the ass.

The previous week had been so amazing. He had never felt that way with nobody in his life. They spent hours knowing each other, analyzing each other. Ian had fallen for Mickey in both dreams and real life. They were high in excitement whenever they chatted. But then, the teasing of the fire was followed by the thud.

 

Ian woke up when the light of the day slipped through the windows. He was surprised when the flashes were over. He had expected a change in the relationship of the dreams. But apparently, what had happened between Mickey and Ian in real life didn’t affect the parallel couple.

Lip got up by lunch time. He had a rough night. He couldn’t sleep when his little brother came to his home shaking and almost in tears. Fortunately, he always kept a spare bottle of pills just in case Ian needed it. They skyped with their siblings in Chicago once their bellies were full of pasta. Talking with his brothers and sisters was supposed to make Ian feel better, but when the conversation was over, he missed them more than before. He’d wished he could hug them right at that moment.

Ian left his brother’s apartment at five in the afternoon. Lip only let him go because the following day he had to work and there weren’t any suits of his size at Lip’s. Besides, he had to come back to be alone at some point.

When he arrived at his place, the hole in the wall was the first thing he saw. Ian tried to avoid it, but it was impossible. The next thing the redhead noticed was the laptop still open on the coffee table. He sighed and grabbed it just to close it. But he touched the mouse pad unintended. A small window on the right side of the screen caught his attention when it lighted up. He read the words and his computer crashed on the floor. Ian felt his knees weak and almost fainted. The whole world was crumbling and all Ian Gallagher could see was fire again.

**Mickey Milkovich:** I also dream with you every night.


	4. The Hand That Feeds

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry this update took so long. I had a very important exam and I had to study. And then I went on holiday. I promiss you won't have to wait so long for the next chapter (almost a month, OMG!!).
> 
> As the previous chapter, this one is unbeta'd. So if you find any mistakes just let me know :)

Ian waited. It was hard when his head worked non-stop the eight hours he was supposed to be sleeping. Each new question his mind asked made him pick the phone and select Mickey’s number. But he only stared at the blank spaces and turned off the cell to avoid the temptation of sending him a _“Fuck you, asshole!”_ as a text.

Mickey had made him feel like shit for a whole day, he expected an apology. Scratch that, Ian demanded a ridiculously big apology. However, the other man had taken the first step confessing. Maybe he was waiting for Ian to answer. Well, fuck him real hard! The redhead hadn’t slept a wink all night and he didn’t care about the mechanic’s state at all.

Ian knew he couldn’t resist talking to Mickey. The silence treatment was pointless when the other person acted as he had jumped in a Tardis and had time travelled to the fucking Roman Empire when phones and computers didn’t exist yet. The scriptwriter will succumb to make the next move eventually, he was aware of that.

Ian blamed his brain. It was the responsible for all the fucked up shit in his life. And pinning for the married-to-a-woman asshole thug was probably his biggest screw-up. Even being bipolar remained in the background those days.

Another boring Monday. It had been weird getting up from bed and starting the morning routing without the headache and the flashes. He felt a hole in his chest. His heart beat faster as it was trying to tell him something. Of course, it was all a product of his imagination because he didn’t need some hints. He was sure of how he felt. Emptiness was a shitty feeling indeed.

And then there was Mickey’s revelation. It was extraordinary that Ian was dreaming with another person every night, but the other man did it too. That was beyond his understanding. How could it be possible? What the fuck was happening to them? It was nothing but creepy. Did it mean that the mechanic had exactly the same dreams as him or was he having different random dreams each night?

Ian was more than stressed and with his phone out of his pocket because he needed the details, he deserved to know and he was already done with that waiting shit. But suddenly the elevator doors opened revealing his workplace. Fuck, he had forgotten he had to actually work that day. Ian sighed loudly and locked the phone. He had to deal with the stupid crap of his job first.

He was sipping the coffee while he checked his personal e-mail account. That fucking machine made shitty beverages. That wasn’t caffeine; it was water from the goddamn Lake Ness. Crystalline liquid with mud. It looked and tasted like it, but Ian had resigned himself to drinking Nessy pee months ago. An e-mail caught his attention right away. Ian didn´t wait to open it because it was from the movie producer which he had an interview that Friday.

**Dear Mr Gallager,**

**We are sorry to announce you…**

_“Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit!”_ Ian sank on his chair. Has his job interview been canceled? He couldn’t believe his luck. David, the guy from the desk next to his, looked at him with a weird and concern look when he heard Ian muttering so many curse words per second. Well, screw him! He didn’t have room in his brain to feel sorry about his language at work. Before ripping out all his ginger hair and becoming the spitting image of Chucky from _Child’s Play_ , he took a deep breath and resumed to read the e-mail.

**Dear Mr Gallagher,**

**We are sorry to announce you that due to schedule conflicts, our meeting will not be held next Friday at our headquarters in Los Angeles as we agreed.**

**Nevertheless, as we are very interested in meeting you, we would be glad to discuss our future project with you the same Friday but in New York. Of course, every expense will be covered by us as a gesture for all the inconveniences.**

**Please, confirm your attendance as soon as possible to make the arrangements and send you the flight schedule.**

**Yours sincerely,**

**Sarah Cook**  
Human Resources Department  
New Light Entertainment

_“Great, I’m such a fucking drama queen”_. That was his first thought after reading the news. He added some rolled eyes to his inner dialogue. He might write that shit down some day. Undoubtedly, his thoughts were much more hilarious than his utterances.

Well, he had a priority now. He dropped everything he was doing and went to his boss’ office. He had to ask for a day off and he’d better do it before the scriptwriter meeting, which was in an hour. Every time Ian met his colleagues in the same room to discuss the next episode, he always felt like one of the musicians calmly playing in the Titanic while everyone else was running, yelling and hitting each other in the face for a place in the lifeboats. Just a contradiction of his personality those days. Sadly enough, if he had to choose a character for his boss, he would be the guy who shot himself in the head in the film. So there was no way he would be in the mood for granting Ian a Friday off after the sinking of the Titanic. The new season of the show was a massive fucking iceberg. Besides, his superior was a prick.

Ian knew it wasn’t polite to tell the truth in that case, so he made an excuse up. Luckily enough, it seemed like his boss had got laid that very weekend and he didn’t have to fight to get the day off. It wasn’t an assumption; everyone in the office knew that the best moment for having a conversation with that asshole was the following day after sex. Unfortunately, those occasions happened so often _as A Song of Ice and Fire_ book was published.

That was why the redhead felt so charitable and spread the news to David once he sat on his chair. “I got Friday off.” His co-worker looked at Ian with incredulous brown eyes. “No way.” Ian had been showing a smug smiled on his face since the moment the boss accepted his employee’s petition. “Clint fucked a random chick this weekend. He almost acted as if I was doing him a favor instead the other way round. Shit! I must have asked for a pay raise, man.” David scratched through his dark hair and got up. “Well, I’ll tell you if it works. Wish me luck.” Ian couldn’t avoid giggling while he saw his colleague knocking on Clint’s door. Instinctively, Ian checked his phone. He had some photos of Liam with his mouth full of cereals that Fiona had just sent him and the scriptwriter smiled fondly at them. But still no sign of Mickey.

 

Mickey broke the silence. He must have written the message while Ian was on his way home because it was there the moment he opened the laptop. Ian thanked the gods for waiting and felt it was a little victory.

**Mickey Milkovich: Look Gallagher, I’m not good at this but I suppose I fucked it up the other day and you must be mad at me.**

He could bet his ass Ian was pissed, which you couldn’t say by the big smile spread on his face. The redhead didn’t hide it anymore, it was a fact that everything Mickey did, even if it was tiny, made him happy.

**Ian Gallagher: Are you apologizing to me? Because I’m gonna need more than that.**

**Mickey Milkovich: Did you read the fucking word “sorry” or do you need to test your vision, grandpa?**

Ian snorted because why was it always so difficult to get something from Mickey? It was easy talking to him, but getting something felt like the prize after the fucking twelve labours of Hercules. However, he had learnt that taking the mechanic over the edge triggered some reaction out of him.

**Ian Gallagher: Cut the crap Mickey or I swear to god I’ll leave and block your profile.**

**Mickey Milkovich: Alright, Jesus. Don’t be such a fucking drama queen.**

Ian could have felt offended but he had called himself the same that very morning, so he appreciated for a moment they both had the same perception towards him and shrugged.

**Mickey Milkovich: I’m sorry, okay? I was an asshole. I just freaked out.**

It took him a couple of minutes to write the apology. Ian knew it hadn’t been easy for the South Side thug to do it. He even imagined Mickey trying to choose the words that didn’t make him look like a pussy. Not that saying _“I’m sorry”_ was a sign of weakness but the scriptwriter had seen the dark haired man acting every night in his dreams and he started to understand Mickey’s view of life was very peculiar.

**Ian Gallagher: So what happens in your dreams?**

Ian hoped Mickey would see the change of subject as a sign of burying the hatchet. He was forgiven a long time ago; Ian just needed to hear the words. Besides, he was anxious and thirsty for information.

**Mickey Milkovich: I don’t know, man. I just woke up every morning and I have those flashes. You live in an apartment next to my house and we do faggy things. And I ain’t fag.**

**Ian Gallagher: Yeah, you made it clear last Sunday.**

The scriptwriter didn’t mean to bring the topic up again when he had just moved on but every time Mickey made reference to his heterosexuality, his blood just boiled. Ian bit his tongue the moment he pressed send, he didn’t want the other man to leave and he didn’t intend to be so bitchy. Luckily enough, Mickey ignored it.

**Mickey Milkovich: It’s like I had this parallel life. Every night we pick up where we left off. It started with you moving in to the apartment and now we’re cuddling every fucking night.**

**Ian Gallagher: Wait! You say you have flashes every morning, when did they start?**

**Mickey Milkovich: About two weeks ago. It was a Sunday, I remember because I couldn’t believe I had that shitty massive headache on my fucking day off.**

_Holy shit!_ Ian swore there wasn’t any blood in his veins at that moment. It was a scary feeling what he was experiencing. He always knew there was a connection between Mickey and him but sharing dreams was totally terrifying.

**Ian Gallagher: I think we share the dreams. Mine started the same day and I haven’t stopped having them a single night.**

**Mickey Milkovich: That’s weird, Gallagher. Because I didn’t have the flashes this morning so I think they might have stopped.**

Ian didn’t know how to react to that. As much as the situation terrified him, he really liked dreaming with Mickey and he didn’t want it to stop. But maybe it was for the best.

**Ian Gallagher:  It was the first time since they started?**

**Mickey Milkovich: Yep.**

**Ian Gallagher: Well, I didn’t sleep a wink last night. This might sound like I fucking lost it but maybe we only have the dreams when we’re both sleeping.**

**Mickey Milkovich: Gallagher, you’re such a fag… but maybe you’re right. This whole situation is going to lead us to a fucking nuthouse anyway.**

Ian had to laugh because he totally could picture them in a madhouse being restrained with a straitjacket. A chill ran through his spine. If watching _American Horror Story_ taught him something it was never had sex with a man in a rubber costume and that psych wards are fucking hell on earth. Especially if the most played tune is called _Dominique_.

It was already 1 a.m. when Ian logged out. He really needed to get some sleep after more than a whole day and a half without resting. He had barely five hours before his morning routine started and he had the intention of spending all of them with Mickey.

 

The following day, after the flashes, Ian lost his shit. His other self had officially moved in with dream – Mickey. What did that even mean? Was that a fucking sign from the stars or any other stupid shit like that? His boyfriend, well, his now ex- boyfriend had been asking him to live together for weeks and there was always something in his head stopping him from saying yes. And then, his asshole parallel self accepted Mickey’s proposition without batting a goddamn eye.

That was too much for him to process, he needed to break the distance and touch the other man, even if it was only shaking hands. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be able to control himself and, giving his bipolarity, that wasn’t a valid option for him.

So, it didn’t mind he was at work. It was nine in the morning and Mickey was about to start his shift at the garage. Ian got up and went to the restroom. Once he was sat on the toilet in one of the stalls, he dialed Mickey’s number. He just had to wait a couple of seconds before hearing the mechanic’s voice. “Ey man, you were right. The flashes came back this morning.”

Ian held his breath for a moment. He hadn’t even remembered that Mickey hadn’t had his dream the previous night. He had been very busy freaking the fuck out, so he kicked himself mentally. “Yeah. Listen, I need to talk to you.”

By the quick muffled sounds of the steps, Ian could tell that the other man was late for work. The South Side never sleeps, but its peak of vitality is the first hours of the morning. Ian missed the street noises he was hearing by the phone and for a little moment, he felt he was at home. “Can’t it wait? I’m out of breath, Gallagher.”

The scriptwriter was running out of time. The sex spell had been broken and his boss was out for blood. “Not really.” He heard a couple of steps before they stopped. “Okay, shoot. Whassup?”

Last time Ian let the older man know that he had something to tell him, it hadn’t gone very well. He had already been through rejection but spite of knowing the feeling and the consequences; it would kill him to repeat them.

He finally sighed letting out all his cowardice and opened his mouth. “I think we should meet.”

The barking of a dog let Ian know that the call hadn’t been cut off. But all he could really hear was silence. It didn’t last much though.

“What do you mean? Like seing each other in person?”

“Yes”

“The fuck?” It didn’t sound as violent as Ian had expected, so it encouraged him to continue.

“Look Mick, I have a meeting this Friday in New York. You could go to visit Mandy too.”

“Ey, ey, ey, hold your fucking horses. Why the hell do we have to meet? I’m fine right here. I don’t need to kiss the statue of liberty’s huge ass to see my sister.”

Nobody said it was going to be easy but at least Mickey wasn’t shutting him down and calling Ian crazy.

“Because we need to figure out what the fuck is happening to us, dumbass!” He might had risen his voice too much and covered the mouth with his hand. His ears noticed a snort at the other end of the line.

“At least tell me you would think about it.”

“Fucking fine.” Mickey groaned. “I can’t believe I’m late for work for listening to your fucked faggy ass asking for dumb things.”

Ian could settle for that, or at least it was what the odd feeling in his stomach told. Mickey said a quick goodbye and hung up his phone.

At that very moment, Ian felt ready to face the day. That was until he opened the door of the stall and saw the angry face of his boss looking right into his green eyes. Ian still held the phone on his hand and there was no way Clint hadn’t noticed it. Or maybe, he had been there for a while and had listened to the half of the conversation. _Fucking great._

\-------------------------

 

“ _That stupid ginger and his stupid shit. I don’t even know why the fuck I listen to him, he is going to get me fired_ ” Mickey had been mumbling all his way to the garage since he cut the call off.

He should have told him to fuck off but he hadn’t been able to. Not since what had happened two days ago when he threaten to fuck him up if he ever spoke to him again. He didn’t know why he said it. Well, if he was being honest, he knew.

Ian was gay. It wasn’t something that bugged him at all; Mickey himself enjoyed a good cock. But the redhead was out of the closet. His whole family knew and he didn’t have to hide his sexuality to his co-workers. They accepted him the way he was.

For Mickey everything had been different. His father tried to kill him when he walked in on him having sex with another guy. And even though he found support on Mandy, his entourage was highly homophobic. He had witnessed members of his family beating the shit out of a random man just for being gay.

Ian Gallagher didn’t have to hide himself and that scared him because he could never be like the redhead.

And he had just told him he wanted to meet. Was he out of his fucking mind? His other self was madly in love with that fucker. Every sign in the dreams told him that they were meant to each other. He’d rather stick it in a tail pipe before tempting the chances of falling for that dickhead. Because Mickey didn’t do romance, no way in fucking hell.

However, deep down, he knew that maybe it was a little too late for that statement. He already had feelings for Ian fucking Gallagher.

If his boss was upset for Mickey being almost fifteen minutes late, he didn’t say anything. He just gave the dark haired man the instructions for the day and the South Side thug got down to business.

He was checking the engine of an old van when he recognized a familiar voice.

“Ey assface.” Iggy was casually leant on a piece of junk car watching Mickey work. The younger Milkovich greeted his older brother with his head and furrowed his brow wondering the reason for the visit. No one of his family went near that shithole.

“Wassup douchebag?”

“It’s lunch time; take your break, Mickey.” Iggy was waving a paper bag in front of him. Mickey looked at his boss and he silently nodded giving his permission. “This way.”

The younger man led them to an empty alley where he usually went to eat or have a smoke. It was his favorite part of the day, when he was alone doing nothing and not dealing with people’s shit. Or it used to be before a certain ginger fuckhead dragged him to facebook.

Both brothers sat on the floor and Iggy unrolled the bag revealing two hot dogs. It was a kind of tradition. They ate the same thing every time they hang out together. And Mickey had to admit that he liked those moments as much as he liked Iggy. He didn’t have much relationship with his other brothers. Colin was okay but he barely talked with Joey and Jamie and he gave zero fucks about their lives.

“So Terry is going out of the can this Friday.” Mickey almost broke his neck due to the quick movement his head made to look at his brother. His eyes were totally opened and anybody could see the fear in them. “They called this morning. I have to pick him up, the rest are out of town.”

Mickey was silent. He had never been a talker, but anyone would have expected some words from him after learning his father was going to be released from prison. However, his brother didn’t push him and continued talking. “I came to warn you.”

That caused a reaction on him. “What for?” Mickey was on the defensive mode. Since when did his brother think that he needed to be protected? He was Mickey Milkovich and everyone in the South Side knew his tattooed knuckles said the truth.

“You know dad wanted you and Lana to have a baby before getting caught. He’s getting out and I don’t see you feeding a fucking brat.”

“So what?” Iggy eyed him with a cryptic look and Mickey didn’t like it. He felt exposed for a moment and he didn’t even know why. After a few seconds, his brother opened his mouth again.

“I know why Svetlana and you got married.” His voice was small, as if it were a secret. Mickey rose his eye brows and let a laugh out because of course his brother didn’t have the slight idea of the reasons of his marriage.

“It wasn’t difficult to find out. I just had to join the dots, you know? Why the fuck would my little brother marry a Russian whore?”

The younger man took a bite of his hot bog and chewed it while the memories of the moment he learnt he was going to be bound for life to Svetlana came to his head. He should have swallowed sooner because Iggy’s next words almost made him choke.

“But I always had known about you. I noticed when you looked at other men's crotch and the way you walked the morning after coming home late. It was like a fucking bulldog was biting your ass, man. Not cool.”

Certainly, Iggy used his brain more often that the mechanic had ever expected. But what shocked him the most was that his older brother was casually talking about Mickey’s homosexuality as if it were a regular thing.

“And of course, it wasn’t causality that you got hitched a few days after getting out from the hospital. Terry found out and tried to kill you.”

Iggy was looking at him and Mickey found his gaze. Was it possible that he had been wrong about Iggy as he had been with Mandy? That existed some Milkoviches that weren’t bigoted pricks as his father? He nodded letting the other man know that his assumption was right.

“You need to disappear for a couple of days. Both you and your wife. Dad will be looking for you as soon as he gets out. After a few days he’ll be on a bender and luckily enough, he will break his probation again and his ass will land in jail again.”

The older Milkovich got up from the floor and shook the back of his jeans with his hands. After that, he offered one of them to his brother but he batted it. Mickey could get up on his own, thank you very much.

“I’m feeding the dumbshit with the taxes I pay every time he’s locked up. And I would do it forever very happily.”

“Seriously Mickey, get Friday off and go away the whole weekend. You’re my brother and we have always protected each other. I promise I’ll have your back on this.”

Mickey felt overwhelmed with his brother’s confession and protectiveness. It was true. Since they were kids they have been fighting each other’s battles. He always thought that if Iggy knew he was gay, it would change. However, the older man seemed to be cool with it. He hadn’t even made a gay joke.

“Even if you’re a cock slut.”

Well, at least he had waited to the end to make it. But Mickey, far to be offended, barked a laugh.

“Fuck you, asshole.”

“Ugh, gross. You’re my brother!” Iggy said while he was going away. The dark haired man flipped him the bird with a smile on his face. The break was over and he hadn’t had a smoke. Fuck! He’d sneak out later.

 

Mickey only saw two options. Whether he stayed and faced the possibility that his father would kill him, for real this time. Or he followed his brother’s advice and skipped town.

Terry hadn’t heard the news of having a grandchild, so he would be infuriated and willing to murdering his pole smoker son.

Despite of being aware of that, Mickey had never contemplated the possibility of confronting his father. The mechanic had grown up in the house of horrors and Terry had been the monster. He had been taught that his dad was the head of the family and they owned him respect and obedience. All his brothers had lowered their heads when he was in the same room, shut their mouths every time he spoke and complied with whatever he ordered. And Mickey shouldn’t be the one breaking the rules.

Terry was the hand that feeds. The one that Mickey couldn’t bite. They lived on their knees whenever he was around. And the mechanic thanked that piece of shit screwed things up easily and spent more time in jail than home since he could remember. The funny thing was that crimes are not what you steal but what you leave behind. And that person who he called dad never cared about Mickey and his brothers being alone. He kept beating people, carrying illegal arms, dealing drugs and committing theft despite having children to feed. It seemed to try even harder to abandon them after his wife’s death. Leaving his children behind had always been his biggest crime.

It was not a surprise that Mickey was scared as fuck. He also was tired. He had always been brave enough to see the situation but pussy enough to do something to change it.

He felt inside his heart being dark, hollow and cold. He was good at pretending but he couldn’t lie to himself after all those years. So he asked himself the question. Would he bite the hand that feeds? He knew once he did it, he would chew it as hard as he could until he could feel the bleed running through his chin. He wanted to get up off his knees, would he manage to do it?

He made his choice.

 

Lana was sitting on the same bench where they usually hung out. For a weird reason, they enjoyed watching the ducks in the pond. The park was near their home anyway, so it was somewhere they went when they needed some fresh air.

Mickey had two ice-creams, one on each hand. He handed the strawberry one to his wife and placed himself next to her.

“Spill it out already.” The cold of his chocolate ice-cream froze his brain for a second. Once he recovered from it, Mickey analyzed Svetlana’s words and impatient look. “What?”

She snorted. They knew each other too well for trying and hide shit. Years of cohabitation worked against his wishes of relaxing her before dropping the bomb.

“You’re nicer to me than usual and you’re buying me ice-cream. And I know you didn’t have a penis in your ass today.”

“You’re and ungrateful bitch. Can’t I feel like spend a fucking quality time with my wife?”

If it were possible, her eyebrows would be in Mars. Who was he trying to fool? Fuck that shit, the mood was already killed.

“Terry is getting out of the can.”

“What? When?” He saw her face expression changing from initial shock to fear. Terry was a fucking bastard. He really destroyed everything he touched. He felt the urge to protect her from him. He only had had the same feeling with Mandy. And luckily enough, she was far enough from Terry’s reach.

“This Friday. But don’t worry, he is not going to hurt us.”

He could see that she believed he was being sincere. Nevertheless, that wasn’t enough for her. She had witnessed what that psycho did to his children, why would he have mercy on a Russian whore who couldn’t fuck the gay out of his fag son?

“Iggy and I have a plan, okay? My brother has our back on this.”

A shadow of fear seemed to vanish her face. She eyed him after licking a bit more of her ice-cream. “What is this plan?”

“All we have to do is disappearing from Friday to Sunday. By the time we’ll be back he would have broken his probation again. Can you ask for some days off?”

Mickey knew she could. She worked her ass at that shithole and she had never skipped a single day. His boss owed her more than one favor. Well, unluckily for him, it was time to collect. She confirmed his assumption nodding.

“I’m going to New York to visit Mandy, do you have some safe place to stay?”

He said casually he was going to be that weekend in New York, just like Gallagher asked him for. His voice didn’t trembler or some shit like that as he had expected when he voiced his choice. Maybe he couldn’t confront his father yet but he was prepared to face Ian and his dreams. He’d better be.

“I can stay with a girl from work, she lives far from here.”

“Cool. I would need her name and address just in case shit goes down.”

Svetlana smiled. She could see her husband cared about her after all the hell they had been through. It made them stronger and wiser. It created a bound that nobody, not even Terry, could break. They were family and they were friends. She placed her hand on his and kept smiling.

“Her name is Nika.”

 

**Mickey Milkovich: So I collected 300 bucks a fucker owned me.**

**Ian Gallagher: Did you?**

Mickey didn’t know how to say to that stupid and perfect dickhead that he accepted to meet without Ian thinking it was a big deal. He had typed and erased the messages more times that he was willing to admit.

Everything had happened very quickly. That morning he was freaking out because of the younger man’s proposal and twelve hours later it was clear as water that it was the right thing to do.

**Mickey Milkovich: Yeah. So I have some money to buy the bus ticket for New York to visit Mandy this weekend.**

In spite of remarking he was going to see his sister, they both knew what that really meant. He expected Ian losing his shit and reading too much between lines. Mickey hold his breath, he was prepared for the rainbow and sunshine parade.

**Ian Gallagher: Okey. So I guess I see you this weekend.**

And that’s how for Mickey, Ian fucking Gallagher became even more perfect.


	5. Every Me and Every You

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Unbeta'd. Sorry for the mistakes you may found. I hope you enjoy the reading! :)

It was the farthest Mickey had ever travelled from home. He had been a few times out of the state of Illinoise. All of them with his dad and brothers on a run. But this was the first time Mickey decided to go on a trip on his own.

The mechanic had to admit that he was anxious. If you asked him, he would say the cause was he hadn’t seen his sister in a while. It was true, but not the only reason. He would prefer having his nuts cut before confessing a certain ginger was guilty of his anxiety too.

The last couple of days had been easier than he had thought. Ian hadn’t brought up the subject of their meeting much often. And when he did it, he just talked casually about it, without giving it importance. Mickey hadn’t decided yet whether some aliens had abducted him and altered his brain or he had learnt a couple of tricks about how to deal with him in the dreams. There was no way that was the natural behavior of the same happy fucker who got excited over the shitty food from the staff cafeteria.

However, Ian’s help hadn´t been enough to keep him away from freaking out every time he thought about meeting the scriptwriter in the flesh. He was like a fucking twelve year old girl counting the hours. Goddammit! Since when did he become the stupid chick from Twilight?

Mickey had only experienced two different pains in his butt. One of them hurt like a bitch when he was shot in his ass after robbing an old lady house. The other was inflicted by a big cock while he was being fucked. The mechanic was more than willing to experience one of these every time he could. Guess which one. But after fifteen hours sitting on that shitty bus seat, he was discovering a new definition of _pain in the ass_.

Luckily for him, he didn’t have to suffer much more. The Friday at 10 a.m. the bus arrived in New York.  He stretched his legs because his limbs were turning numb. And of course, when Mickey got out of the bus, his sister wasn`t there. He took his phone and started to dial Mandy’s number. _Fucking bitch! Where the fuck is she? I swear to god if she had forgotten about me arriving after all the bitching I had to hear from her for not coming before I will shit on her. I bet she’s banging some asshole…_ Mickey had to stop rambling and start eating his words because not even a minute after his brother had put a foot on New York, Mandy entered through the bus station’s door. Nevertheless, that didn’t make the mechanic treat her more nicely than he would have five seconds before.

“Fucking finally.” Mickey dropped his duffle bag on the floor as if he wanted to emphasize his hissy fit. Mandy raised an eyebrow at her brother’s unjustified bad temper. “Shut up asshole. It’s just 10:03, give me a fucking break.”

Both siblings stared at each other for a few seconds. Everybody else could say it was awkward, but for them, it wasn’t. They were Milkovichs after all.

“Bitch.”

“Dickhead.”

They smiled for a moment and threw their arms around each other. As brother and sister, they had been greeting each other with those words since they were kids. The difference was that it had been too long since the last time they did it. It was nice to finally feel like home. The hug lasted a bit more than Mickey would admit, but he didn’t give a fuck. Mandy was his favorite person in the world and he hadn’t seen her in fucking forever.

 

Mandy’s apartment was a shithole. But at least she didn’t have to share it with some creepy douchebag. And more important, Mickey wouldn’t have to go to jail for bashing the roommate’s head with a baseball bat after trying to make a pass at his sister. He knew for experience the dark-haired woman could defend herself pretty good, but nobody touched his sister against her will. Whoever had the idea of even thinking about it would be a dead man.

The mechanic left his luggage next to the couch. He supposed it was going to be his bed during the weekend after all. He didn’t need to see the folded sheets and the blanket on the arm to confirm his suspicions.

He checked his phone; he had a message from Ian. Mickey couldn´t believe he had that butterfly shit on his stomach at seeing the redhead’s name. It hadn’t happened to him before. Maybe it was because of their meeting that very afternoon.

**Ian: So see you at 5 p.m. in my hotel. Wish me luck on my interview!**

Like Mickey said, such a happy fucker. How could he be so cool with all that? The thug was losing his shit. He needed to sit down and maybe a drink too. Fuck! He was really considering going to the hotel completely wasted.

**Mickey: Okay. Break a fucking leg and all that shit.**

Mandy was making lunch when he stepped in the shower. It was enough his sister yelled “ _You reek like Pepé Le Pew, take a fucking shower.”_ after their hug at the bus station for him to lock himself in the bathroom. A few years ago he wouldn’t have listen to his younger sibling and he would have continued another day without applying soap on his body. But Svetlana had questioned his obvious lack of hygiene after their wedding and she had been determined to change that habit he had of not showering often. That Russian bitch could be annoying as shit when she wanted something. And she finally got it. Mickey took a shower every day. It was a fact that marriage changed people.

He usually used his daily shower to jerk off. However, it was his little sister’s apartment and he didn’t feel comfortable to spill his cum all over her shower. It was weird to spend one day without fingering himself thinking on Ian. It was already part of his routine and he had to make a big effort to break it. Sure his shower was the place where Svetlana cleaned his naked body every morning too, but it was different. People expected them to have sex regularly. That exchange of fluids was the closest they would ever get to consummate their marriage.

Mandy revealed her secret weapon when Mickey tasted the food. It was just chicken but his sister had really improved her cooking skills. Banging the chef of the restaurant where she worked had to have its perks. It wasn’t difficult, though; all they Terry had nourished with before they left were pizza rolls and sandwiches. Sadly, they guy thought Mandy wasn’t enough and started to screw another waitress. That dumbshit earned the place at the top of Mickey’s bashing list. He would pay the dead man a visit before leaving the big city.

So when they sat on the couch after the meal, Mandy saw the occasion to ask. She knew how to prepare his brother for an interrogation session. Filling his belly with food was the step one, the open bottle of beer she handed to him was the second.  She looked at his brother with her blue eyes. He seemed momentarily happy but he couldn’t hide the spark of uneasiness and his expressions gave him away. “Why did you come here?”

Mickey looked at her with nervousness for a moment but he tried to conceal it furrowing his brow in confusion. Too late, Mandy had already seen it all. “What the fuck do you mean? I’m brought my ass here to see you.”

The waitress sighed in desperation and some of the dark locks of her bangs were moved by the air she blew through her mouth. “Bullshit!”

Clearly, Mickey hadn’t spent a fifteen hour journey to fight with his sister. Besides, she had a baton hidden somewhere in her apartment with which she could make Mickey spill out the truth. So he thought she had already won that battle without even starting it. He rubbed his eyes trying to find the easiest words. “Terry gets out from jail today.”

For a moment, the dark haired man lived a déjà vu. Mandy’s reaction was the same he had seen a couple of days before on his wife. He wondered what he was doing there instead of in Chicago sticking a knife on his father’s heart. Then he remembered.

“Oh.” It was all the woman said. She took a gulp of her beer and looked at the old TV as if one of her favorite shows were on. The thing was that the device was off . Mickey joined her in silence until it was broken a couple of minutes later. “So I guess you weren’t lucky enough to get a twink to knock you up to please Terry.”

“Fuck off, bitch.” He couldn’t help but laugh. He felt relieved when his sister joked. Any other girl would be shitting herself after learning her molesting and abusing father was released. But they had lived that crap so many times that they were becoming immunes. Each new prick hurt less.

The mechanic laid his head against the couch and turned it to face the woman sat next to him. Sometimes she looked like their mother so much that Mickey couldn’t stand looking at her. But Mandy was different. She had never given up; she made it out of the South Side and was living the life she chose. Mandy was doing it for her and for him. And he was so fucking proud that for a moment, a genuine smile appeared on his face.

“Why the fuck are you looking at me like that, assface?”

“Because you stopped asking.” Mickey had decided to redeem himself from the lies he had said to his sister. He was ready to tell her the truth. Or at least the truth that didn’t earn him a ticket to Baltimore State Hospital.

She blinked twice. Mandy hadn’t expected that answer. She even was surprised her brother hadn’t told her to fuck off or any similar expression. “What do you mean I stopped asking? You have already answered.”

“I told you one reason why I came here, but it’s not the only one.”

Mandy hold her breath. She didn’t know what the hell was going on with her brother. Sure, he had announced his visit just two days ago, but she thought Terry’s release was enough to make him come to New York. “Well, what is it?”

The thug bit his lip before confessing. It wasn’t easy for him to open up and less when the person he was going to talk to was a Milkovich. “I swear to God, Mandy. If you make this a bigger deal than it really is, I will twist your tits so fucking hard you won’t need a fucking starship to congratulate Pluto on being a planet again.”

She smiled at her brother’s words. They both knew no matter how intimidating their threats were, she would squeal if the confession deserved it. So Mandy just rolled her eyes and nodded in an annoying way.

“I’m meeting a guy.”

Mandy frowned. She had forgotten how much activity her forehead and eyebrows used to have when a member of her family was around. “Wait. A gay guy or just a guy?”

“For fuck’s sake, Mandy. Do you think I will come to New York to scam a loser? I’m a married man now.”

“Yeah, a married man who came to New York to get fucked in the ass.”

 Mickey snorted. He really preferred his sister were a regular girl and squalled at the news. “Fuck you! I just say I’m meeting a guy not banging him.”

“Like if it wasn’t the same when it comes to you when a homo dick is involved.”

The woman didn’t even blink when the mechanic flipped her off, she just shrugged. Mandy admitted to herself that she had it coming. Teasing her older brother was one of her favorite hobbies and she hadn’t had the chance to do it in a long time. “So who’s the lucky one? Is he from here?”

“Fuck no. He’s from Chicago.”

“Really? Do I know him?”

Mickey couldn’t avoid scratching the back of his neck. He knew it was one of his tell-tales. He had the fixation of doing that when he was nervous or embarrassed. At that moment, he was both. However, Mandy didn’t mention it and waited for him to give her an answer.

“You went to school together.” He pronounced the sentence very lowly just to make it difficult to hear. “Speak louder, dumbass!”

“Jesus! It’s Gallagher, okay?”

Mandy was in shock. “Frank Gallagher?”

Mickey grimaced just at the thought. Who would want to fuck Frank? He’d have rather stick it in a cactus field. Seriously, why the hell did his sister think he would suck their neighborhood drunk’s cock? His life was shit but he wasn’t so desperate. “No fucking Frank, the other one, the redhead.”

“Ian?” Mickey softened his face at the mention of that name. He nodded slowly. Her sister however, dropped her jaw to the floor. “Wait, wait! Ian Gallagher is gay?”

The mechanic raised his eyebrows. His gaydar must have been good because according to his sister’s reaction, Ian liking dicks would have been the last thought Mandy had had. “Damn! I wanted to ride him so hard at high-school.”

“I didn’t need to know that shit, slut.”

“I don’t fucking care. I just found out my high-school crush is fucking my brother.”

Over the years, he had walked in on Mandy making out with guys Mickey would happily rip their clothes out. Thank god he didn’t have to see how his youngest sibling felt Ian up.

“For the last time, I never said we were going to fuck.”

“So why the hell are you meeting Ian?”

That was a question he had asked himself for the last two days. He could say he had no other option after going to New York, or because Ian wanted to, or just because they needed to figure out how to stop the dreams. But the truth was that Mickey had agreed to meet because he craved to see Ian. 

“We worked together at the hotel that summer and there’s a bunch of shit we need to talk about.” His voice was small. He wasn’t lying. Everything in that sentence was true. But the main information was missing.

“Oh my fucking god!” Mandy’s blue eyes were wide open and her right hand was on her mouth, as if she had just seen a ghost. The dark haired man turned his head but he saw nothing. But the woman continued speaking, “You like him!”

“Wha- What? No! No, I – I don’t!” Mickey could feel the blood rushing through his cheeks. And, of course, the stutter didn’t help him at all.

“Bullshit! You totally do!” Mandy stood up and signaled his brother as if he were guilty of a crime. The man couldn’t ignore the smile on his sister’s face. She was making a big deal of it. Maybe it was. After all, it was the first time Mickey mentioned a guy who wasn’t related to them and didn’t call the dude _asshole_ , _douchebag_ or any other loving name.

“Shut the fuck up.”

“Ian.”

Mandy waited for his reaction and she got it. Her brother blushed when he heard the name. When he realized, the mechanic covered the face with his hands, but it was too late.

“See? I fucking knew it!” The beers were long forgotten. Both of them couldn’t remember at what point they left the bottles on the coffee table. But who cared? Mickey looked at the excited face of his sister and smiled. A small laugh escaped his lips and Mandy joined him.

The woman hit her brother’s arm softly and sat down on the couch again. The mechanic did the same and grabbed the beer. He felt the sour taste on his tongue and inhaled air through his teeth. The liquid was no longer cold enough but he didn’t complain.

 “So when are you meeting Ian?” Mandy didn’t need a confirmation from Mickey. He had been able to read her brother’s feelings since the first time Ian’s name floated in the air. However, seeing Mickey losing his shit was hilarious.

The dark haired man was piercing the crystal bottle with his blue eyes while picking at the label. “This afternoon, at 5. I want you to come with me. You know, just in case.” The woman nodded. She knew what he meant. Mickey didn’t do dates and that was the closest he ever had. “Just don’t let him see you.”

Mandy look at her watch and raised her eyebrows. “Well, you’d better start getting ready, Cinderella. It’s almost 2.30.”

Mickey pretended he wasn’t freaking out when he check the time on his own watch. Two fucking hours and a half to meet Ian. He had to breathe deeply a couple of times so he didn’t throw up. Once he calmed down, Mickey stood up and made his way to the bathroom.

“And shave that ridiculous and almost nonexistent beard.  You’re not Hagrid, for fuck’s sake.” In spite of being two steps away from her brother, Mandy had the necessity to shout the words. She had wanted to mess with him for that beard. She couldn’t understand why on hell Mickey insisted on grow one when he knew for sure he couldn´t.  She earned a grunt. “Where did you agree to meet?”

“At his hotel.”

The woman almost choked with the sip of beer she was gulping. She coughed a couple of times and ran her hand through her mouth. “Yeah, and you said you were not going to get fucked today.”

Mickey sighed. They were going to be the longest two hours and a half of his entire life.

 

\-------------------------

 

Ian could say he nailed his interview but it wasn’t why he had been smiled since he woke up that morning. He had been trying to play it cool for two days, which wasn’t difficult at all because Mickey wasn’t there and they only had been communicating through texts or facebook messages.

Nevertheless,  the truth was that he had been climbing the walls and on cloud nine at the same time. He didn’t even know how the fuck he managed to make his job right those days, but he did.  

It was five to five and he couldn’t stop tapping on the desk of his room. The movie producer had spared no expensed. They covered the fees of his stay during the whole weekend at a five star hotel. It was the cheapest room but it had cost more than the amount of money he earns in a week. Ian betted the managers of the movie producer rolled and swam on money. Just like Scrooge McDuck.

 

At five on the dot, he was calling the elevator. It hadn’t been his intention to look too eager, but he didn’t give a fuck. He had fucking butterflies in his stomach and he sucked off the guy he was meeting every night in his dreams. Excuse him for showing too much interest.

He didn’t count on Mickey being already there. He stopped in his track the moment he saw the back of the mechanic. He bit his tongue when he thought he would recognize that perfect ass everywhere. He couldn’t help staring at it for a couple of seconds. Admiring that butt in dreams was mind-blowing but contemplating it in the flesh made his dick twitch in a second. It made that raw visceral instinct of sexual attraction to surface.

The moment Mickey turned around all those feelings went to hell. His blue eyes were looking straight to him and he could feel the butterflies growing. He had never experienced something like that in his entire life.

There was something in the way the mechanic bit his inferior lip that made Ian’s knees weaken. It was like Mickey had carved his name on Ian’s arm. There was no doubt the redhair was in love with the man in front of him.

He made his best to walk calmly towards Mickey. With each step his nervousness grew. _Fuck! What am I going to do? Do I wave at him? No, I don’t want to look like a fucking dork. A hug? Too much for him maybe. A hand shake? Too formal. For Christ’s sake!_

They met half way. Ian didn’t even try to stop his big smile. Mickey, however, scratched the back of his neck and looked at the floor for a moment. “Whatssup man?”

“Hey Mickey! Ho- how was your trip”

They could feel the awkwardness in the air. They both knew they needed to relax. Finally, Mickey looked at him and Ian captured a little nod Mickey had surely made to himself.

“Good, good. And your interview?”

“It went great.” His smile became a grin.

“Cool.”

Ian motioned the couch on the right side of the hall and they sat on them. For an unknown reason, Mickey looked several times at the hotel bar but the redhair didn’t think too much about it. “Do you want something to drink?”

Mickey seemed to snap out of it and his eyes look at Ian’s wide open. “Wha- No! I’m fine.”

They needed to feel more comfortable and they had failed for too many minutes. So the scriptwriter decided to face the awkwardness. “This is fucking weird. I mean, seeing you in the flesh.”

Mickey began to fidget on his seat and looking around. “It was your fucking idea, Gallagher. So stop bitching about it.”

Ian smiled because that sounded more like the Mickey he knew, not the strange version from five minutes ago. “Yeah, because we need to talk about the dreams.”

That caught the dark haired man’s full attention. His eyebrows were raised and he was still on the couch. “I bet my ass that’s why I’m here. I need to sort this shit out before I lose my fucking mind.”

The ginger looked at Mickey with his puppy green eyes. He didn’t expect a declaration of love, Ian knew his feelings were one-sided but it still hurt. “Well.” He clapped his hands. “Let’s go down to it.”

“Do you have any ideas? Because I know shit about dreams. And every time I tried to read something about it, I got nothing.”

“I-I thought about something that maybe could help us understand what is going on,” Mickey motioned Ian to continue and explain his plan. “Maybe if we sleep in the same room, after we have the flashes we could tell each other everything we remember from them. That way we could see the similarities and the differences. If there are some.”

Ian’s heart beat faster while Mickey seemed to kill him with a stare. He had no doubt it was because of the proposition the redhead had just made. _Shit! He must have thought I wanted to take him to my room to try and fuck him. Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Why didn’t I keep my mouth shut?_

He felt his lungs running out of air the moment Mickey stood up. He was leaving. And Ian was still sat on the couch trying to get a reaction from his body. Something that made the mechanic stay. “Mickey, I didn´t…” The dark haired man stopped walking and turned to face Ian.

“What the fuck are you doing there? Come on Gallagher, let’s get this shit done. I don’t have the whole day and I don’t know which is your fucking room.”

Ian’s head spun when he stood up too fast. He didn’t know if he had listened right. Had Mickey agreed with the plan? If he was wrong, he didn’t give a fuck, he would be in denial.

“Yes, yes. Lead the fucking way, Gallagher.” The man working at the front desk looked him at him as if he were one of the apocalypses horsemen. “Fuck off!” He motioned Ian and himself “We are customers of this shithole. Show some fucking respect.” An old lady who wore a poor dead animal on her as a coat was staring at him with a disgusted face. At that moment, Mickey wished he shared dreams with Freddy Krueger. He would have asked him to pay that fucking queen of the Stone Age a visit that night.

They disappeared through the elevator and got to the 15th floor. They walked through a long corridor with similar white doors. At the same time Mickey was sending a text, Ian stopped his tracks in front of room 1508. The redhead took a card of his pocket and inserted it in an opening just above the handle. He opened the door and got into the room.

Ian had been shocked that morning when he saw the place. Mickey had the same reaction. Sure, they had seen a couple of rooms the time they worked at the hotel back in Chicago. But that was a different kind of luxury.

Mickey’s jaw was on the floor the moment he stepped on the room. He was particularly looking at the bed. It really was a huge one. The size of the flat screen TV was ridiculous as well. “Damn Gallagher. Did you have a job interview with Tony Stark?”

“I know, right? I feel like I suddenly entered in a parallel world where I’m rich or some shit.”

“This isn’t Stargate, get over it and enjoy the fucking ride.” As if he were following his own words, Mickey let himself fall on the mattress. After making a couple of commentaries about how comfortable the bed was, the mechanic moved over and Ian took the hint to lie next to him after he turned off the lights.

He could breathe the mechanic’s scent. He had felt it so many times in his dreams that he thought he would never get to smell Mickey in real life. But he did it and his heart was threatening to get out of his chest.

The room was dark and silent but the atmosphere was comfortable, as if it were second nature for them to be there. “Do you see any known faces in your dreams?”

“No. Just you, Mickey. I mean, Dream-me recognizes everyone but each night they are different. For example, my boss is a white middle age woman one day and a black young man the following day. And you?”

“Same here. I only recognize your ugly face.”

The scriptwriter breathed a laugh. He knew it was Mickey’s way to say he was okay with that. He just wanted to cut some tension.

“Let’s get some sleep Gallagher.”

They checked the time before closing their eyes. It was 5.36 p.m.

Ian rolled on his right side and inhaled some air full of Mickey’s perfume. He drifted himself to sleep thinking he could get used to that.

 

\-------------------------

 

When Mickey opened his eyes what he first noticed was that he was no longer in horizontal position. His feet were on the ground and the most comfortable pillow in the world wasn’t under his head.

Ian only could hear crowd noise. Was that a fucking telephone ringing? Who the fuck was phoning and why were there so many people in his hotel room?

What they both saw got them more confused.

Ian was sat on his desk at his work in Los Angeles. His fingers were set on the keyboard as if he were writing a document on the computer. What the hell was happening?

Mickey held a monkey wrench on his right hand. He was standing in the middle of the garage just in front of a grey ford. How the fuck did he got there? A second ago he was lying down on the bed of a hotel next to Ian Gallagher in New York. And then he was in the South Side.

Ian and Mickey looked around looking for each other. But they neither of them couldn’t find any sign of the other man. However, the scriptwriter and the mechanic were determined to find out what kind of joke they were living.

Mickey dropped the tool and walked to the exit. Ian stood up and put on the jacket which was on the back of the chair and headed to the elevator. At that moment neither of them seemed to see they were wearing different clothes.

The thug stopped in his tracks the moment he heard his name being yelled. “Mickey! Where the fuck are you going? It’s not lunch time yet!” He expected to be his boss who shouted but he didn’t recognize the voice. Whoever was the fucker telling him what to do was going to shit in a bag for months. 

The mechanic turned around and he was taking aback by what he contemplated. He was definitely at his work but everyone who was there, the people who were supposed to be his co-workers, were strangers to him. And the assface who made him stop dead didn’t have the body of his boss. But something inside Mickey told him that he was his superior.

The redhead took a moment to stare at the picture he had in front of him before the elevator doors got closed. Where the hell was everybody and who the fuck were that people? Did he fell in a rabbit hole?

But Ian looked careful again.

It took them a minute. Maybe it will take longer to process. But they finally realized what was going on. There was no time to freak out or lose their shit. They had to find each other.

Because they were awake in the dream.


	6. Right Where It Belongs

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Unbeta'd. Sorry for the mistakes and thanks for reading!! :)

Mickey was used to running. He had spent more years than he could remember escaping from the police. Even now that he had a steady job, his first instinct when he heard the strident sound of a car police siren, the mechanic clenched his jaw and felt his body getting ready to dart.

There weren’t any sirens at that moment, but his quick steps were made of pure instinct. He hadn’t even thought where he was heading. He knew he had to find him the second he realized he was in the dream. Because if he was there, the other man had to be as well. Fuck, he needed him in there.

Ian couldn’t wait for the elevator to open when it got to the ground floor. He was ready to sprint as soon as the space between the two doors fit his body. His eyes were fixed in the cold metal when he started to move.

He knew what he had to do. Even so, the scriptwriter was scared of being mistaken, of arriving home and finding it empty. He didn’t want to be alone. He didn’t want to be in a dream without him.

The redhead turned every familiar corner. The same buildings, shops and signs but different faces. He didn’t have time to stop and analyze that fact. The only thing he could feel was his heart bumping in his throat. He was so fucking glad for all those years of ROTC. He had been running for five minutes without stopping a single time and he still had his breath.

Mickey stopped the moment he got to the street where he lived. He wasn’t on a rush anymore. He knew it the moment he spotted red. Ian must have thought the same because he slowed down when his sight caught Mickey’s figure.

Their steps were more secure but they both still had the urge to get to each other. After a minute, they did.

“What the fuck, man?” Mickey was the first to speak. They were just in front of the house they shared in the dream, just next to the apartment where Dream-Ian used to live. “How did we get here?”

“The fuck should I know?” Ian shrugged his shoulders just to make more emphasis to his statement. He had no fucking idea why the hell they were in the dream.

“I don’t know. You’re the one who went to college.” The mechanic checked his pockets to get a cigarette but he found nothing. _Fucking great, is this Dream-me for real? Of course I had to get in the parallel world where I don’t keep fucking smokes in my pockets._

Ian looked at him as if he could read his inner monologue. Fortunately, he found a pack of cigarettes on him and handed one to Mickey. “Yeah. Because it’s logical to think I have zero clues why we have the same dreams but I know why we are in it.” He lit a smoke as soon as he stopped talking and offered the lighter to the other man.

“I figured you knew more shit than me. You know, you’re all educated and all that.”

Ian then noticed the thug was wearing his overalls. They were dirty and greasy. Nothing new he hadn’t already seen in the dreams but Mickey always took it off before leaving work. So he had only seen the garment when it needed to be washed.

The redhead scratched his forehead lazily and sighed. “I’m not saying it’s right but… have you ever heard of the solipsism?”

Mickey looked at the other man as if he were watching two donkeys playing chess. “Solip, solip-what?”

Ian had to think twice just to make sure he had pronounced it right. It was another crap theory that he had learnt in his philosophy class and frankly, he had thought he would never need. Excuse his younger self for believing he would never be stuck on a fucking dream. “Solipsism. It’s the idea that only one’s own mind exists. So the rest of the world that we see is unsure.”

The mechanic had his right eyebrow raised and the redhead wasn’t surprised. He couldn’t even believe he was quoting his philosophy teacher. That fucker was a bastard who spent more time drooling over his female students than trying to teach.

“What the fuck does it mean?” Mickey didn’t have time for riddles; he needed real information at that very moment.

“It means that how do we know this isn’t the real world and the other is just an elaborate dream? What if everything around us in our lives isn’t what it seems? What if everyone else is just creations of our own except you and me? Maybe that’s why every night we see different faces in the same identities.”

For each question Ian formulated, he took one step closer. Their faces were a couple of centimeters away and Mickey felt his body shiver every time Ian’s breath touched his skin. The thug rose his blue eyes and found green looking directly at him. He never thought his mind could associate the adjective _beautiful_ with someone, let alone a man. He had always used _hot_ or person _I would bang_ instead. But Ian was more than that. Ian was beautiful.

Mickey licked his bottom lip and took his look away. It was too much for him to handle. He liked to be in control and he felt like a fucking fangirl every time Ian was around. He even had to restrain himself from squealing when the redhead smiled at him.

“That doesn’t make sense. This isn’t our real world, Gallagher.”

Ian crossed his arms over the chest. Of course he knew that it was a dream. But there was something about that parallel world that made him think about that theory. As if he wasn’t catching something the dream itself was shouting.

“I’m just saying that maybe, just maybe, we have been wrong all our lives.” Of fucking course, the Milkovich man grunted. He clearly thought what he was saying was bullshit. But he didn’t care. The black haired man was what Ian dreamt about both asleep and awake.

“Are you afraid to see, Mickey?”

Ian might have said it with more than one meaning.

“Cut the crap Neo, I’m not afraid of shit. Don’t you have to fly somewhere or something?” Mickey was shaking his arms in the air.

Ian had to repress a smile. Was Mickey always so grumpy? He had never realized his constant bad mood on the computer. The redhead suspected it was a mechanism of defense, a kind of shield to avoid bullshit and closeness. Ian thought that he might have developed a mood like that one if he had to deal with the fact that Terry Milkovich was his father. That psychotic bastard made being related to Frank a blessing.

The mechanic eyed the two buildings he had in front of him. On the right side was the house he shared with Svetlana in real life and with Ian in the dream. On the left, he could see the apartment where the other man used to live. He turned his head to face the scriptwriter one more time. “So this is where you live in Los Angeles.”

“Yeah. And if you keep walking you will find the whole city. I have been wandering the streets in my dreams.”

Mickey nodded. He had done the same in the part of the city where he lived. “And right now we are in Chicago.”

“I guess…”

The black haired man could see the invisible line which separated the two states. That was so fucking ironic. He was looking at the border between California and Illionis. He rose his head again and looked at his companion with a grin.

Mickey jumped to the left and landed his feet in California while uttering “Los Angeles.” He hopped this time to the right and said “Chicago” loud and clear. He repeated the action over and over while the younger man looked at him with an astonished face.

“Mickey, what the fuck? Are you five?”

His words trembled with laughter. Ian couldn’t believe what he was seeing. That grumpy man had a child inside of him.

“Are you fucking kidding me? This shit is real in here. You’ll never be able to do this in our world. West and East coast, Gallagher.”

Mickey kept jumping while talking, he didn’t let that ginger party pooper ass ruined that moment. Especially when he was having that fun.

“You’re such a dork.”

“Okay, alright. The moment is already over. Let’s go to the house to see if we can find out why the fuck I’m stuck here with your ugly face.” Mickey kicked himself internally for the big lie he had just said.

The mechanic had left his belongings at the garage so it was Ian who took the key out of his pocket and opened the front door. They were welcomed by the familiar decoration. The inside of the house was exactly the same as the one in the other world but instead of finding Svetlana’s stuff around you could see Ian’s. Mickey went directly to the fridge and took a beer while the redhead was looking for any clues. He really needed alcohol to assimilate that situation. Before his lips could even touch the edge of the bottle, his eyes focused on the label. _What the fuck?_

“Yo Gallagher, I thought we only bought actual beer not this shit. What kind of beer brand is called _Hypnos_ anyways?”

Ian was in the kitchen in a heartbeat. “Did you say _Hypnos_? Let me see the bottle.” The other man handed him the container and the redhead furrowed his brow at the sight of the name.

“What is it?”

“This, this is weird. My pills are _Hypnos_ too. Have a look.”

Mickey followed Ian to the bathroom where he showed him a little orange plastic bottle with a sticker on it where you could read _Hypnos_ under Ian’s full name. “And this isn’t all. Before I left the office, I saw my computer was a _Hypnos_.We use Macs!”

They stared at each other for a moment before splitting. They looked all over the house.

“The TV is _Hypnos_ , and the blanket too. This is bullshit, I bought it in Ikea. I paid twenty fucking bucks for it.” Mickey was waving the fabric with anger. He would have never paid that amount of money for a fucking blanket but Svetlana had some very weird whims for his taste. However, he said nothing about the origin of the electronic device. He had stolen it with his brother Iggy before getting married.

“And the tooth paste and the shampoo.” Ian went to the main bedroom and opened the first drawer of the chest of drawers. “Shit! The boxers too.”

When they had checked the entire house, the scriptwriter went downstairs again and joined the mechanic in the living room.

“This is too weird, man.”

Mickey was in the middle of the room freaking out. He was fidgeting and running his hands through his hair. Strangely enough, Ian was feeling very calm about the entire situation.

“Yeah, it seems everything here is from _Hypnos_ , whatever it is.”

“How did we miss something like this? I-I have never seen name before in my life. And now we’re stuck in this shitty dream. What if we never get out of here?”

Ian could see the desperation in Mickey’s eyes. He needed to do something to calm him down. So the redhead stretched out his arm and touched the older man’s face.

It was the first time they felt each other’s skin. Mickey shivered under Ian’s hand. He had never felt so relieved. He had never felt that kind of desire, not only physical but emotional too. It was like if the Ian were touching his soul. And that scared the shit out of him. So he moved away and pushed the younger man so hard that he almost lost his balance. “What the fuck are you doing? Take your faggot hands off me.”

Ian froze. It hadn’t been his intention to make a move on Mickey. He wouldn’t deny touching the other man was the most amazing feeling he had ever had, but he had only wanted to calm Mickey down. However, the redhead reacted. He had been already insulted once when he confessed he had the dreams and he thought that shit about his sexuality was over. So he was really pissed off.

“Are you fucking kidding me right now? Go fuck yourself.” This time was Ian who pushed Mickey even harder.

“Who told you that you could touch me? Do it again and I will break all your fucking teeth.” The mechanic’s voice was full of venom. He didn’t even have to think what to say. He had heard all that homophobic shit from his father so many times that the words slipped out of his mouth automatically.

“You need to get your shit together, asshole. Because you welcome my dick in your ass and your mouth every fucking night in this house and now I can’t even touch your face.” Ian was screaming and walking towards Mickey. The mechanic had already reached the wall and he saw the redhead coming closer to him.

“I swear to god if you take one more step I’ll kick your fucking ass.”

Ian looked at him for a couple of seconds and took one big step towards the older man without taking his eyes off him. Now there wasn’t almost space between them.

“Come on big guy. Do it!”

Mickey could feel the other man’s air going out from his nostrils. His green eyes wide open, and his lips closed in anger. The mechanic clenched his right fist and rose it ready to punch. But the moment his arm moved upwards it stopped. His noses were already brushing despite the height difference and Mickey suddenly forgot the reason why he was about to beat the other man.

They kept staring at each other without moving a single muscle until the redhead reacted and Mickey felt Ian’s lips over his.

His whole body tightened when he realized what was happening. His brain didn’t seem to work because he wasn’t reacting. Just when Ian was pulling out, Mickey put his and on the back of the younger man’s neck to stop him from breaking the kiss and he finally moved his lips.

Ian had no idea what got him the impulse to kiss the older boy. Maybe it was because he was so angry at him that he wanted to piss him off. Or that he had been craving for tasting him since the first dream. He had been waiting for a punch in his face or a knee on his stomach. Mickey beating the shit out of him. But what he hadn’t been expecting was the black haired man returning the kiss. And when the mechanic opened his mouth and Ian could finally slide his tongue in Mickey, it felt like heaven.

Mickey moaned on the other man’s mouth when he felt their tongues touching. The contact sent waves of electricity through their bodies. And they were hungry for each other, devouring their lips out of passion.

Ian laid his hand on Mickey’s hip and ran it until he found the ass. The mechanic explored the abs under the redhead’s shirt. The thug realized his clothes were an obstacle for what they were doing. So Mickey broke the kiss to take his overalls off. Meanwhile, Ian got rid of his shirt and tossed it on the floor revealing those insane abdominals the older man dreamt about.

They kissed again with more passion than before, both taking in each other’s moans. Mickey led them to the couch and they fell on it. Ian was the first to take the next step and put his hand in the mechanic’s boxers feeling his already hard cock. Mickey, who was straddling the redhead, did the same and touched that dick he liked so much. They both started to stroke each other’s member while the rough kisses became bites marking the skin their lips and teeth caught.  

Occasionally they had to separate their mouths just to pant and encourage the other man to continue. “Fuck” Mickey said when Ian introduced a finger in his ass suddenly. The sounds the mechanic let out of his mouth sent Ian over the edge. He could only repeat one thing over and over “Mickey.”

And then something clicked in their heads. A missing piece in a puzzle. Something they had never known they needed. Suddenly all was right where it belonged. 

They were both consuming in a fire they had started. And they could feel their release near when they heard a hard bang on the front door.

Mickey opened his eyes and snapped out of the trance he was in. He stood up and gathered his clothes from the floor.

Ian stretched is arm and grabbed Mickey’s hand with a wide smile still on his face. His lips were tickling at the loss of contact. “Come back here, Mick. Whoever it is will leave.”

But the scriptwriter’s grin faded away when the thug pushed the hand aside the moment he felt the contact. He resumed getting dressed ignoring Ian’s concerned look.

The redhead didn’t leave the couch. He was trying to understand what was happening. “What is it, Mickey?”

Finally, the older man looked at him. He motioned between the two of them and opened his mouth.

“This will never happen again.”

“What do you mean?”

Another loud bang came from the front door. But this time, some others followed. Both men took a glance at the source of the noise but they soon ignored it and looked at each other again.

“What happened here, it’s not me, okay? I’m not fucking gay.”

That made Ian stand up. He couldn’t believe what his ears were hearing. What twisted kind of joke was that? The sound of the banging was even louder and some people were yelling at the other side of the door, but he didn’t give a fuck.

“Are you sure? Because one minute ago you were telling me not to stop while I was fucking your ass with my finger.”

“It’s this fucking dream, okay?”

The noise increased. But they also changed. There were no longer uncoordinated anymore, the thuds of the hits were all at the same time.

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me!” Ian took some steps just to reach Mickey’s personal space. He wasn’t letting that go so easily.

“I just-“ That was all what Mickey could say. He was interrupted by the people outside trying to break the front door down. The two men turned their faces towards the entrance of the house. “What the fuck? Fuck off!”

But before the mechanic could even open his mouth again to finish what he had started to say to Ian, they saw the blade of an axe piercing the door. They both jumped out of shock with their eyes wide open.

“You know what? Never mind. Let’s get the fuck out of here.”

Mickey took Ian’s hand who was still petrified and they started to run. By the time they made it to the back door, the main entrance of the house was already shattered and a bunch of unknown faces entered Mickey and Ian’s place shouting the two men’s names with anger in their eyes.

The scriptwriter had already reacted and got all his senses back. They ran as much as they could until they found an alley where they hid. They stayed in silence for a moment while they caught their breaths.

“Were those walkers? Because if we had jumped into The Walking Dead world I swear to god I’m fucking done.” It might have sounded stupid but that was all Ian got.

“Fuck no! Those fuckers were alive. Why do they want to kill us? I have no fucking idea.”

“This is so fucked up. We’re so fucked up.”

Suddenly, they weren’t alone in the alley. Two women and a man with a shiv were blocking the entrance. The two men couldn’t run. If they wanted to get out of there, they needed to fight them first. So they looked at each other for a moment and after taking a deep breath, they went for it.

Mickey fixed the armed man as his target but Ian got him first and decked him. So Mickey head-butted the woman on the right and knocked down the other one with a punch in her face. Both women were lying on the floor barely moving.

Ian had it more complicated. In spite of being on the floor, the adversary didn’t waste time and aimed his shiv at Ian’s flesh. Luckily, the redhead saw it coming and rolled over. Both men stood up and prepared themselves for an unfair fight. The scriptwriter knew that first he had to unarm the guy. It shouldn’t be difficult. It was just a couple of years older than him and not much bigger. Besides, by the way he held the weapon Ian could tell it was the first time he used it.

The redhead grabbed the armed hand stopping the man to use it, punched the guy in the guts to kneel him down and twisted his wrist making him to lose grip of the shiv. Ian stepped on the knife and let Mickey throw the final punch.

“Goddamn Gallagher, I didn’t know you had those ninja moves.”

In some other situation, he would have been proud of himself and he would have had a stupid smile on his face. But he hadn’t forgotten the unfinished argument with Mickey. “ROTC. Now take the fucking knife and let’s go.”

The younger man took a plank which was against the wall and thought he could use it as a weapon. The moment they got out from the alley, a mass of people ran towards them. They sprinted beating every person they found on their way. They didn’t stop to see if they were still moving or passed out or dead. They didn’t even look at the faces. They just used the plank and the shiv not even registering the blood on their clothes.

It was like if the fucking dream was against them. They needed to get out of there. They needed to wake up.

Soon they found themselves trapped. More people were coming from everywhere ready to attack them.

They were next to the abandoned building where Mickey used to go as a teenager. It had been his safe place when he needed to escape from his father. But the attackers followed them and Ian and Mickey were trapped on the roof.

“Who the fuck are you and what do you want?” Mickey thought that at least they could have some answers before dying.

A little girl stepped from the rest. It reminded Ian of Debbie when she was about ten years old. The girl had an innocent face which made contrast with the axe she was holding.

“We have been watching you, following you in both worlds. We always know where you are and what you do. You can’t escape from us. We are Hypnos.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah. Nice fucking try, Samara. Now shut the fuck up and let the grown ups speak.”

Mickey had been so distracting looking for answers that he hadn’t notice Ian had found a way out. The redhead tapped the mechanic’s leg and motioned his head towards the old and rusty mattresses scattered next to the ground floor. If they jumped, they would fall on them and the landing would be safe spite of the four floors of free fall.

So the older man nodded his head. Both men breathed deeply. If everything went well they would have bought them some more time. If it didn’t… well, they didn’t want to think about that possibility.

Ian turned around and barked a laugh and positioned himself just on the edge. “Fuck you!” shouted to everyone but the man standing by his side.

Mickey did the same but changed his words. “Bye bitches” were his. Because he’s kind of a dramatic asshole.

And then, they jumped.

Mickey and Ian felt the air caressing their bodies. They should have their looks fixed on the mattresses but they couldn’t take their eyes off each other while their lungs produced the screams of freedom.

Suddenly, everything went black.


	7. Mind Your Manners

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Unbeta'd. Sorry for the mistakesyou might find. Thanks for reading!!

They had to gasp for air. When Ian and Mickey opened their eyes, they felt their bodies convulse and their lungs empty. They were in the bed of the hotel in New York. They had made it, they still didn’t know how, but they had woken up.

Both men stared at each other for a couple of seconds waiting for the headache and the flashes to come, but they didn’t. It made sense though. There was nothing they needed to remember. They had been consciously in the dream.

Neither of them wasted time. Hypnos, whatever it was, was watching every move they made. And by the events of the dream, they were very pissed. _I’m going to put a bullet in your head the moment I catch you_ pissed. So they had to get the fuck out of the building.

They jumped out of the bed quickly. No need to say a word, they both seemed to know what the other was thinking.

Ian took a glance at his watch. It was 5.42. “We have been sleeping for six minutes.”

Mickey, who had to go to the bathroom to splash his face with water right after standing up, put his head out as soon as he heard what Ian had just said. “What? No fucking way. We had been running from that horde of fucking orcs for at least half an hour.”

“Yes, but time in the dreams is faster than in real life.”

Mickey’s eyebrows rose to his hair line at the redhead’s statement. “Oh! So now this is real life, right?”

The younger man knew where that was going. Or at least where the other man wanted it to go. But the scriptwriter was still mad at the thug for what he had said when they stopped making out. So he decided to ignore it.

“Time is running out, Mick. Grab all the shit you can from the mini bar and let’s go.”

Ian took his jacket from the chair in front of the desk and opened the door just to check if the coast was clear while the mechanic filled a plastic bag with bottles of water, sodas, candy bars and crisps. In case of being the only food available for them to eat, it wasn’t the healthiest but they wouldn’t starve.

The redhead choked with his own saliva when he opened the door. He couldn’t believe what his eyes were seeing. When he reacted, his voice was almost inaudible.

“Wha- what are you doing here?”

“I thought I could surprise you.”

Ian flinched. The voice of that man made his skin crawl. He turned his head and checked on Mickey who was still busy.

“How the fuck did you know I was here, Scott?” Because standing in front of him, it was that man with sandy hair and an aura of assholeness around him which you could see from the fucking Taj Mahal. He didn’t have time for his ex-boyfriend’s bullshit. He needed to get out of there with Mickey and forget about anything else.

“I called your sister and she told me you were in New York, so I came to talk to you.”

Of fucking course Fiona did. It wasn’t her fault though. He had been so busy with work and falling in love with Mickey that he had forgotten to announce he had broken up with Scott. Besides, he hadn’t been the brother of the year lately and he had barely talked to them. And when he did, he didn’t feel like talking about his problems. So Lip was the only one who knew more or less what was going on in his life. And for the first time since he was born he regretted his older brother’s virtue of not filling others in on people’s life.

The scriptwriter pinched his nose with his eyes closed and breathed deeply before opening them.

“Look Scott, I-“

“Gallagher, I have everything we need. Let’s move our asses out of here.”

Mickey’s voice came first, then his figure. Scott’s eyed widened when the realization slapped him in his asshole face.

“So I see you didn’t waste your time. You came to New York to fuck some idiot.”

Mickey didn’t make the effort to repress a laugh. Was that guy for real? It was the first time he saw him and he was already trying to insult him. He turned his head with a quizzical expression and faced Ian who was intentionally looking at him.

“Who the fuck is this loser?”

“Who the – I’m his boyfriend!”

Really? Why did that guy keep talking? He would have kicked his ass if he had had the time. And Mickey was very disappointed because he really wanted to punch that douchebag in the face.

“Ex-boyfriend.” Ian had to point it out. He didn’t understand why he first got involved with that dude. He must have been so in need of sex when he arrived to Los Angeles.

“Oh, right. You’re Scott.”

The blond burst his chest with pride. He clearly thought that if the mechanic knew his name was because the black haired man was just a rebound guy. Scott nodded his head with a smug smile. Mickey really had to fight to not wipe it with a kick in his balls.

“So, yeah, go fuck yourself.” Mickey gave him a big push against the wall and Scott whined like a five year old kid. Once the corridor was cleared of any dickheads standing in the middle of their way, Ian and Mickey walked to the elevator as fast as they could without drawing attention to them.

Despite of witnessing who he still claimed as his boyfriend running away with another man, Scott wasn’t giving up. So he put his face together which had been distorted in incredulity, and followed them.

Just when Mickey thought he wouldn’t see that guy’s face again, he slid through the elevator doors which were in the process of closing. The mechanic cursed his luck. He couldn’t believe the doors hadn’t closed sooner catching Scott and cutting him in half when the lift went down. No, he was in the fucking same cubicle as him and Ian.

“What the fuck, Scott?”

“I just want you to give me another chance.”

Mickey clenched his fists. He didn’t want to lose it, but he was already on the edge. It wasn’t just jealousy. Of course, he couldn’t stand the thought of Ian going back with that jackass. But the main reason was because he felt like a coward at that moment.

Scott had had Ian for himself for months. Touching and kissing him without fear. Telling him what he felt and making future plans. Maybe the guy was an ass but he was fighting for Ian while not giving a shit who heard him. Meanwhile, what did Mickey do after he had finally got to kiss the redhead? Making up a lame excuse about the dream making him gay. Even if Ian had been the only boy he had let kissing him, even if he was dying for tasting those lips again.

So Mickey rested his back against one of the corners of the elevator and kept his mouth shut. Deep down, he knew that all that anger he felt wasn’t for Scott but for himself.

“Are you out of your mind? Don’t you remember when I kicked you out of my apartment?”

Mickey smiled because he did remember when Ian told him what had happened. And he knew Ian wasn’t polite when he did it.

“Yes, but we have had time to think. And I made all my way to New York just for you.”

Ian laughed. He wondered if the blond realized he fucked it up more with each word his mouth released. Also, he didn’t know why Mickey hadn’t already kicked Scott’s ass. He normally wasn’t so patient.  

“And what? Just because you came to New York you think you deserve another chance?”

Just at that moment, the elevator chimed announcing the arrival at the lounge. Ian could hear Mickey muttering _Fucking finally_ one second before the doors revealed the hotel hall.

“I don’t have time for this shit. Come on, Mick.”

The three of them went out of the cubicle and Ian and Mickey made their way to the exit. Once again, Scott was behind them, following.

“So what? Are you going to leave me for this _guy_?”

Ian might have been mad at Mickey but his feelings for the thug hadn’t changed. He still had goosebumps every time the mechanic looked at him. And the redhead didn’t like at all the way Scott had pronounced the word _guy_ referring to his companion. However, he had already wasted a lot of time for that asshole. He needed to escape from Hypnos so Ian decided to ignore what he had just heard.

They kept walking with their eyes fixed on the door which was constantly moving. There must have been a convention or a sort of meeting in the hotel because the hall was full of guests and people kept coming in the building.

“You can’t seriously be with that piece of trash when you can have me.”

That was enough for Ian to lose his shit. He could say anything he wanted about him but he wasn’t going to stand on the sidelines while he said shit about Mickey. Fuck Hypnos! He was going to break that dick’s face.

As if the universe was working for him, before Ian could turn around, he heard a thud followed by a squeal. The two boys stopped in their tracks and looked back just to find Scott on the floor covering his face with both of his hands.

“Mind your manners, you son of a bitch! Nobody gives my brother shit but me!”

Guilt crept through Mickey as he realized he had completely forgotten about his sister. And yet, there Mandy was, punching and screaming at a dude she hadn’t seen before in her life in the middle of a five star hotel just because he had disrespected her older sibling. Mickey could feel nothing but pride and love for her.

“Ey fuckhead! I thought you had left me for the D.” Mickey snorted. That bitch really believed he did the same she did.

“You brought Mandy?” At any other occasion, Ian would have been more than happy to see Mandy again. He really liked her when they studied together. But, what the fuck was she doing there? That was supposed to be about the two of them, not a Milkovich convention.

“Nice to see you too.” Mandy rolled her eyes. She didn’t know what was going on, why that asshole was following them, and who the fuck knew the reason why the two men were anxious and in a hurry. But she was aware Ian didn’t expect to see her there, so she didn’t take his reaction personally.

“What? You could have been a creepy. I have watched _Hard Candy_ and all that fucking films about people meeting on the internet to not watch my back. Now let’s get out of here.”

Mandy agreed the moment she took her eyes off the two men and saw dozens of persons staring at them with judgmental looks. Moreover, one of the staff members behind the front desk was with the telephone on her ear. That fucking bitch was calling the cops on them.

So they ran. Mickey had no clue where the fuck he was going. Ian was leading them as he was the fastest of the three of them. He had never thought Mandy was a good runner. She always escaped every time the police was chasing after them, but Mickey had had the belief that his sister’s speed was effective but regular.  However, he had seen Ian in action and she was almost as fast as the ginger G.I. Joe.

They had been moving for fuck know how long when Mandy shouted to turn left. They followed her instructions and got to an alley with no way out. They three of them were bent gasping for air.

“What the fuck, guys? Are you planning to run the fucking New York marathon? Cops won’t look for us here.”

“Fuck the police! We’re not running from them.” Mickey was already fed up with the situation. He had the unfortunate feeling that he had been already beaten down. He saw a dump and kicked it with all his strength in frustration. The adrenaline had numbed his body; he would probably feel the pain later. What the fuck was he thinking when he accepted to meet Ian? Oh right, Terry. Fucking his life since his birth.

“As usual, I have no fucking idea what’s going on. And you know why? Because you tell me shit!”

Mandy was yelling at his brother and Ian saw as the oldest boy was struggling to keep it together. Besides, the woman’s shouting could draw attention to them. So the redhead stepped between the two siblings trying to avoid a murder. Or three.

“We will explain to you everything later. I promise. But first we need to get to a safe place.”

Ian was looking at her with puppy eyes and she was convinced that made him get too many things in his life. Fuck! She couldn’t say no to that look. The black haired woman breathed deeply and nodded. Why was Ian the gay Gallagher and not Lip? She would never understand her bad luck.

“We can go to my apartment.” She was still looking at the scriptwriter when she offered her place as shelter. Ian had his hand on her shoulder and squeezed it a little in gratitude. Mandy couldn’t help to smile.

The younger man looked at Mickey who had been watching the scene between his sister and his crush with special attention. She’d better not be thinking about trying to turn Ian straight. Because fuck no! That wasn’t going to happen. Ian loved sucking dicks too much and Mickey would break her hand before she touched that ginger cock.

“We can’t go to your shithole. The Poltergeist girl said they have been watching all our moves. They would look for us in there.”

Ian agreed. They had to find some other place. Both men looked at Mandy. She was the only one who knew the city.

“They? Who the fuck are _they_?”

“Later, Mandy. I promise. Where can we go?”

She chewed her lower lip while moving her blue eyes everywhere just as her brother did when he was trying to come out with an idea. It was definitely a Milkovich thing.

“My friend Lucy is out of town for a few days. I have a key. We can go there if you don’t mind cats.”

“I wouldn’t mind Godzilla size cockroaches at this point.” Mickey was indeed desperate to get out of that alley.

They took a cab. They wouldn’t take the chance to be seen on the underground. It was safer that way. Mickey had no clue how his sister met that friend but either Lucy had a better job position than Mandy or she could really find a bargain. The apartment was much better than his youngest sibling’s.

He left the bag with the drinks and food on the kitchen counter and went directly to open the fridge. Mickey was horrified the moment he found out that not only there were only organic and vegetarian food but there weren’t any bottles of beer.

“What kind of friends do you have Mandy? There’s not even cheese in this fridge. Who the fuck doesn’t eat cheese?”

He took one of the snickers from the plastic bag and took an angry bite. Thank god those losers from the hotel knew to pick good candies. Three cats appeared when they heard the sound of the candy bar wrapper. Mickey used his effective _Fuck off_.

“Shut the fuck up, Mickey. That cheese-hater is saving your asses.”

Mandy was pointing at the two men. Certainly, what she had just said was true. So Mickey just snorted because he couldn’t let her know she was right. That wasn’t what siblings did.

“Okay. I’m going to have a shower because running made me sweat like a pig. But you’d better be prepared to tell me what the fuck is going on.”

She was visibly pissed. So Mickey silently nodded with Ian and bit his tongue when a sarcastic commentary popped up in his head. Mandy left the open space where the kitchen and the living room were located and locked the bathroom door. When the mechanic heard the noise of the water running, he faced the other man who had sit on the couch at some point.

Mickey knew that he had to say something. He hadn’t spoken to each other since they left the hotel room. And it seemed it had been ages ago. Besides, Scott had appeared and that asshole made everything worse. “Well, at least we made it for tonight.”

The scriptwriter was eating some crisps and trying to find something decent to watch on the TV. He didn’t even bother to look at the older man when he answered him.

“If you say so.”

The comment was dry and Mickey couldn’t stand it. Ian being mad at him should have been something that he had to be used to, but it wasn’t. Instead of dropping the subject, he gathered all his courage and faced the problem. Even if he had to deal with something he didn’t like to talk about.

“Are you giving me the chin now, Gallagher? Fine. But we should get over it and deal with the major problem, which is Hypnos. If you hadn’t notice. So man the fuck up.”

If looks could kill, Mickey’s body would have been on his way to a morgue. Ian threw the remote control to the floor in frustration. Luckily enough, the carpet muffled the noise and prevented the device from breaking.

“Are you fucking kidding me right now? What the fuck do you want from me?”

Ian was aware that he couldn’t yell, so he tried to sound as angry as he could without raising his voice. Mickey on the other hand, had a lot of answers for the last question the younger man had made. He wanted to kick him in the balls for making him feel like he had a hole in his guts when Ian wasn’t looking at him. He wanted to kiss him until their lips hurt. He wanted to feel him inside of him and inhale the air the other man breathed. He wanted to hold him and never let him go. He wanted to protect him. But it was a long time ago when Terry had taken his innocence and then threw it to a burning fire. So he couldn’t.

“I want you to stop acting like a girl.”

“Says the man who can’t admit he likes cocks.”

Ian’s jaw was clenched. Mickey should be prepared to fight. However, he was turned on. No matter what Ian did, the mechanic always found it sexy. He shook his head to make the thought go away.

“I’m not fucking gay.”

Mickey had stood up to keep distance between them and to show authority. But he hadn’t thought Ian was a tall fucker when he made it. So when Ian got up from the couch, his plan failed. Both of them, because now the scriptwriter was closer to him. Ian definitely didn’t get the concept of personal space.

“Admit you loved when I touched your dick and shoved my finger in your ass.”

Fuck! He did love it. He hadn’t been able to stop thinking about it since it happened. He wanted, needed Ian to touch him again.

“Admit it.”

There was no possible way Mickey could deny it. He gulped heavily and rose his look to meet Ian’s. His green eyes were darker than usual. He clearly could see the anger in them but Mickey could distinguish lust too. The mechanic cursed his life. He had already lost that battle. The redhead had attacked him with his entire arsenal. Mickey was sure Ian was going to be the death of him. For once in his life, he decided to be swept along and take the first step.

“Ian, I-“

“Okay, I’m ready. I hope you are too.”

The two men jumped in surprise and sat down quickly. Ian didn’t hate people easily, but he hated Mandy at that moment. He was sure Mickey was going to kiss him.

“So what did I miss?”

Both men looked at her as she was a prey they had to kill. At the same time they blame themselves. They had been so caught in the moment that they had forgotten about Mandy being in the fucking bathroom.

“Why the fuck are you looking at me like that?”

The two men didn’t have time to react. The front door was opened with a loud noise and the cats ran to get shelter. Just one of them was brave enough to hiss at the door. But as soon as several persons got into the apartment with black balaclavas on, the cat followed the others.

Mandy was the first to react. She went directly to one of them, a man if Ian had to guess, and pushed him hard. She must have known that with that physique, a punch from her was like a caress for him.

“Who the fuck are you?”

The guy didn’t waste time and slapped her so hard that knocked her down. Mickey saw her sister lying unconscious on the floor of the apartment and ran to fuck those motherfuckers up.

Ian was the first to throw a punch. They knew they wouldn’t win the fight. They were five against two. And it wasn’t like those three in the dream. Hypnos really prepared their men. But if they could break any bones before getting caught, that would be a small victory for them.

So Mickey aimed to the nose and he heard the _crack_ and the blood running from the nostrils. Ian made one guy kneel down when he gave him a kick on his stomach. But the feel of victory lasted a second. The other three had a gun on their hand pointing at their heads.

Two of the armed persons moved and stood behind Ian and Mickey with their guns still aiming at them. That was it. Mickey released a laugh thinking that that was how his life ended. And what he hurt him the most was that he couldn’t save Ian. Ian could only think that if he was going to die, at least the last thing he was going to see was Mickey.

“We’re not going to kill you.” It was a woman’s voice. Both men looked at her trying to get more information from her, but the only thing they got was an impact on their heads.

And for the second time in the same day, everything turned black. Without a doubt, that fucking world was no longer good enough.


	8. Black Holes and Revelations

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Updating on a Sunday is becoming a thing xD  
> Unbeta'd. Sorry for the mistakes you may find. Enjoy it and thank you for reading!

Ian woke up for the second time that day with no flashes. But the headache was there. However, it was a different pain. A sharper and more intense pain. It was like if a goddamned banshee were screaming in his head. His brain was about to explode and the redhead could only start screaming and slipping from his seat. He only noticed his hands were tied when he tried to hold his head in a desperate move to make the pain more bearable.

Then he heard Mickey’s cries. The relief he felt for knowing the other man was by his side only lasted a minute. If there was something worse than experimenting pain was hearing the agonizing screams of the person you love. For the first time since he was awake, Ian opened his eyes to meet Mickey’s only to realize he had been blindfolded. That made his pain mix with anger.

“Mickey! Fuck! Mic- aaaaaaaahhhhh!!”

If she weren’t too busy freaking out, Mandy would have commented she was shitting herself. She had never been so scared in her entire and miserable life. Not even when her dad sneaked in her bed in the middle of the night. That was something she had got used to. Being beaten and kidnapped while you heard your brother and friend’s agonizing screams wasn’t something you usually go through.

The worst part was not being able to know what the fuck was happening. She knew they were in a type of transportation as she could feel the vibration. But she had no fucking idea why the two men were screaming.

“What the fuck is happening? Why are you screaming?”

Her mind was flying over different scenarios. She would fuck with her baton whoever said the privation of a sense made the others intensify. Clearly that dickhead hadn’t been tied and taken against his will by some armed strangers. She tried to focus on what was going on and assumed the most logical option.

“I don’t care who you are, just stop beating them, you son of a bitch!”

Mickey couldn’t believe he had to deal with the screaming of those two morons in addition to that insanely strong headache. He would have loved to kick himself for coming to New York. He could have stayed with Svetlana and her friend. Hearing lesbian sex sounded like a good plan when he was experiencing the worst physical pain ever.

His sister was wrong, though. Nobody was beating them. Or at least not him. He felt a chill at the thought Ian could be being beaten and felt the impulse to stretch his arm and touch the ginger just to make sure nobody was laying a finger on him. He tried to speak to let Mandy know it was just their heads, but he only managed to grunt.

He didn’t know for how long they yelled but, by the time the intensity of the pain had seemed to have reduced, the vehicle stopped. The mechanic heard the steps of several persons going in where they were and suddenly someone lifted him from behind. He could hear his sister insulting whoever was trying to catch her and he tried to elbow the dead man walking who was dragging him who knows where. However, Ian was silent and that wasn’t common.  The ginger couldn’t get his mouth shut even at the bottom of the fucking Pacific Ocean.

“Get your dirty fucking hands off me or I swear to god I’ll rip them off.”

Up until that day, apart from his family, the only person who had been immune to his threats was Ian. So he felt impotence when he heard a suppressed laugh. In spite of that, Mickey didn’t stop his intentions and continued screaming violent menaces more angrily than before.

Soon, they came to a halt and their ties were loosened enough to release themselves. Quickly, the two Milkovich siblings and Ian took their blindfolds off. Their instinct told them to fight and beat those fuckers down. But all the rage they have felt until that moment had made them forget the bad guys had weapons. If they moved a finger, their heads would explode like watermelons. Mickey was too young to die, so he controlled himself and checked Ian and Mandy were in one piece.

Ian was on his left. His face was calm but the mechanic noticed his hands were shaking. Not much, he could perceive it because the other man was next to him. Apart from that, the ginger seemed to be okay.

His sister however, was another story. She barely could restrain herself. She was irrational whenever she felt rage. Mandy didn’t think on the consequences, she acted. That’s why she got slapped earlier. Her ass would have ended up more than twice in juvie if he and his brothers hadn’t taken turns to clean up her messes. She took the “A Milkovich will fuck you up” motto to another level. They helped her for two reasons. One, she always had a good reason. And two, Mandy was their baby sister.

Once he had made sure everybody was okay, he look at front. Two women and three men were a couple of meters away from them. All were holding an arm expect one. They seemed to be in an industrial unit and it was cold as fuck. Mickey could feel his nuts shrinking more and more every minute. The headache was bearable at that moment and all his senses were focused on the five strangers.

The man in the middle, who was the unarmed one, took a step to the front. Mandy couldn’t help growling.

“Sorry for the inconveniences and the headache, we had to use a device to avoid the dreams. Also, it wasn’t our intention to act with violence.”

Mandy lost her control and Mickey stopped her before she got them killed. However, her brother couldn’t stop her tongue.

“Fuck you! I’ll kill you with my bare hands, fucking bastards!”

It was definitely easier when they were just teenagers and the mechanic could hold his sister with hardly any effort. He worked out and she was so thin a breath could knock her down. But then, he stopped growing and she didn’t. Fuck genetics.

As his two friends were busy, it was Ian who took the baton and faced the unarmed man who was looking at the siblings with a gob-smacked face.

“Bullshit! You sent these people to kill us in the dream!”

The man furrowed his brow and took a moment to think before replying. That gave Ian enough time to analyze him. He was a little bit older than him and Mickey, maybe around thirty-two years old. He was shorter than Ian and his hair was dark.

“Us?”

“Yes, you! Hypnos!”

The redhead could feel his patience slipping through the tip of his fingers. And that wasn’t clearly good.

The older man rose his eyebrows and the expression of his face was a mix of surprise and understanding.

“Oh, no. I see the confusion here. We’re not Hypnos, Ian.”

Jaw-dropped, Mickey loosened his grip and Mandy stopped trying to kill someone. She didn’t know what they were talking about, what or who the fuck Hypnos was and what the hell was going on. As usual, she was the last loser to find out. However, according to the faces of her brother and Ian, the last statement had been a bitch of a plot twist. So she wanted to know everything before killing everyone in Vlad the Impaler style.

“You’re not?” Ian thought for a moment he had turned into a tree because he had rooted on the spot.

“We’re not Hypnos my ass. Why do you know his name then?”

Mickey was clearly pointing Ian. He would admit he was surprised at first but he would be dammed if he believed those fuckers. He wasn’t as innocent as the idiotic ginger apparently was, thank you very much.

“Because we’re the opposite of Hypnos. We brought you here because we want to bring them down and you needed protection. They were coming after you.”

“So you know what this Hypnos is?”

“Don’t listen to his bullshit, Gallagher. They’re Hypnos!”

“We’re not, Mickey. But I can tell you everything about Hypnos.”

That caught Mickey’s attention. He looked at Ian and he saw the scriptwriter had already decided to believe them. And Mandy had already joined the dark side with the younger man.

Her brother didn’t have to look at her like that. As long as there were long explanations, she was one hundred per cent in. If he didn’t like it, he could go suck his own dick.

Mickey breathed a sigh of defeat and resignation. If those two were going to team up all the time, they wouldn’t last alive for much long. Besides, he was beginning to feel a spark of dislike about the closeness his sister was trying to have with Ian.

“So what the fuck are you waiting for?”

The unarmed man motioned towards some chairs. The rest of his people just stayed there looking at them and temporary mute. Mickey rejected the offering with a rude gesture and they all remained at the same spot.

“Hypnos was a secret project a scientific company created. It consisted in mind control through dreams. The project was named after the personification of sleep according to Greek mythology. They got funds from the government as it could be a great mechanism of defense in case of war. Image being able to control your enemies’ mind. Also, it could be a great source of information. But as soon as they learn they were testing it in civils at early stages of the project, the government decided to shut it down.”

“Wait, so you’re saying there are more people like us out there? That we’re not the only ones?”

Dreams? Secret project? The fucking government? What the fuck did his brother get into? Mandy was having the shock of the year. “What the fuck are you talking about?”

“I assume you didn’t tell your sister.”

Mickey snorted. Of fucking course he hadn’t told Mandy. “I don’t want people to think I’m crazy, you know?”

“I told my brother.” Everybody looked at Ian. He didn’t know why the hell they were shocked by his confession, it wasn’t a secret he told his older brother everything. “Wait, Lip knows and I don’t? Un-fucking-believable.” Mickey just shrugged as an answer to his sister.

Mandy felt the urge to punch his brother in the face. Fuck, she was going to do it. She pushed the mechanic and he almost lost his balance.

“Bitch!”

“You piece of shit!” She was ready to hurt him but she was interrupted when she heard someone clearing his throat.

“If you have finished your little family drama here, may I continue?”

They all stopped. Mandy had her fist half way to her sibling. The aim was not perfect because she didn’t intend to break his nose. Mickey was trying to get away from the woman’s grip. And Ian, as usual, was in the middle making his best to take that childish moment to an end.

Mandy remembered she could kill his brother at any other time. There was another thing going on at that moment, that dickhead would get what he deserved later. But, for the moment, she nodded and let Mickey go.

“Answering your question, Ian, yes you’re not the only one. Couples were selected all over the country and with different possible relationships. You have are romantically involved in the dreams, right?”

“Yes.” Mickey answered. “But why us? How did it happen?”

“Well, when you were working at the hotel did you suffer any blackout?”

“I had been working there for three weeks or so when I passed out. When I woke up, I had a few stitches on the back of my head. I was told I had a hell of a fall and I hit my head on the tiles.”

“They told me the same.” His voice was small when he spoke because, for a moment, he was taken aback. But a second later, Mickey could feel his blood boiling. He didn’t need to ask what happened next. He knew it. But the man decided to explain it anyway.

“You were drugged and then they inserted a kind of microchip connected to the low, middle and superior encephala of your brains, which create dreams.  The low one produce the REM sleep, the middle controls your emotions and the superior is in charge everything makes sense. This way you got this parallel world every night, a world Hypnos created for you. Sometimes even you have similar thoughts while you’re awake.”

The silence invaded the place for a moment. It was too much information to process. They were having all those black holes and revelations filling their heads. Ian and Mickey had just learnt they had gone through brain surgery and they had that thing messing up with them.

“Let me get this straight.” Mandy had to end the muting moment because she had been joining the dots and the result was crazy. “So some bastards drugged you and put a fucking piece of what computers are made of in your head. And since then you have been dreaming with each other every night being a couple and all that shit and living the gay dream in fucking Wonderland?”

“Well, technically, seven years later. But pretty much, yeah.” Mickey wasn’t going to get into detail with Mandy. But at least he could confirm that she got the main idea more or less.

“Mickey, what the fuck?” Her hands were on her head. That was the craziest shit she had ever heard. And she was born and raised in the South Side, she was sure she had carried on many of the craziest stories the rest of the world had ever heard. Her father got her pregnant, for fuck’s sake!

“Don’t look at me, I didn’t do this, I didn’t want any of this!”

Ian pretended the last sentence didn’t hurt. But it did. Maybe he shouldn’t have taken it personally. Everything was fucked up. Hypnos was playing with their lives and they were mere puppets. However, the scriptwriter couldn’t help it. _Any of this_ included Ian. He noticed Mandy was looking at him and she dedicated the ginger a sympathetic smile. She must have guessed his thoughts or he had them written all over his face.

“Can’t we just take the microchip off our heads?” For Mickey the solution was easy. He didn’t want anybody else determine his life. Even if it took another brain surgery, he needed it out of his body. Maybe if it wasn’t there he’d stop having all those feelings for Ian.

“No, you can’t.”

For the first time, one of the armed people spoke. It was a young woman, around their age.

“My brother was one of the chosen. He was paired with a woman who lived Alaska. When Phil – apparently that was the unarmed guy’s name - found us, we removed the chip. But the moment it lost contact with the brain, my brother died. There’s no way you can take it off without turning your brain off.”

“Fuck!”

“So you knew more Hypnos victims?” Ian was intrigued. He really wanted to understand why these people were helping them.

“All of them have lost someone because of Hypnos.”

Mandy was sick of standing up like an idiot. She went where the chairs were placed and seated on one of them.

“And what about you, Phil?”

She was looking directly at him. He had said the reasons the rest had to be there, but he hadn’t included himself in the sentence. The black haired man scratched his cheek before answering.

“I used to work for Hypnos. The day I realized what the project was doing to you, I gathered as much as I could and left.”

Anyone would have had his doubts about his commitment to the cause. Maybe the former Hypnos worker wasn’t as former as he claimed. But the other four persons, also Hypnos victims in a way, were totally okay with it. They didn’t even flinch when he confessed it. They trusted him. So Ian, Mandy and Mickey believed him.

“Hypnos is not only our enemy, it’s god’s too. They will burn in hell for their sins.” The oldest man in the place, one who hadn’t spoken before, sentenced and Mickey snorted.

“This has nothing to do with god. If it did, do the fucking favor of waking him up because he falls asleep in his job.”

“Hypnos has been working in the shadows since the government closed the project. You all have been activated at different times through the years so you could be monitored more easily. A few months before the dreams start, they make sure you’re away from each other and the process begins.”

In Ian’s case, the job offer in Los Angeles was unexpected. He felt he had received a letter from Hogwarts. He never applied for that position, neither Lip did. But he didn’t question it. He thought they had found his CV on the internet. So a couple of weeks later, the redhead and his brother were on the cheapest flight to California.

Mickey had been wondering why an aunt he hadn’t seen since he was a brat had left him his house in bequest. The woman didn’t have any children but the whole family thought she would will her properties to her cats. It wouldn’t be the first time that happened. Mickey had dropped his jaw when the lawyer who knocked on his door told him the house was his. That moment was the first time the dark haired man thanked god for something in his life. A couple of days before he had been hired at the garage. So he took his wife out of the house of terror ruled by the twisted asshole he had for a father and moved in his own place.

“I still don’t know why me. It’s only him who wanted to get his ass shot for this country. Why the government suddenly chooses me when it gave zero fucks for my siblings and me when they could have helped us?”

Mandy nodded. Where was the government when their mother died and left them alone with Terry? They barely could make it when he was in jail. They were just children and they didn’t have any incomes so the only thing they could do was stealing. But it was worse when their father was at home. He beat the shit out of Mickey on a regular basis and raped her whenever he got drunk. They were living in hell and the government apparently avoided hell.

“When I started working for Hypnos, the chosen had already been selected and the microchips were in your heads. But I read the reports. They paid the hotel a lot of money and the only thing the administration had to do was not asking questions. They observed the staff for weeks and they selected you because they needed two young gay males for the project. Ian and you happened to fulfill the requirements.”

“That doesn’t make sense, I’m not gay.”

Mandy snapped her head towards her brother. Ian only sighed. He was getting tired of that sick little game of lies Mickey was playing. Phil stared at the mechanic for a moment, trying to find the appropriate words.

“Mickey, you can say what you want. But they watched you for weeks and they got proofs of you sexually interacting with other men. Never with a woman. You are gay.”

Mickey felt all his rage concentrating in a single spot. He wanted to get the fuck out of that place. But he couldn’t.

“I’M NOT A FAG!”

His tone was violent. He had had the need to say it out loud letting all the rage go with it. Maybe if he shouted it, it would become true. But he was fooling himself. He just had to look at Ian for a second to be sure he was still gay. However, he noticed disappointment in Ian’s face. The scriptwriter was hurt and he knew it was his fault.

Ian took a step to the front. He didn’t even turn his head when he felt Mickey’s gaze on him. He was focused on Phil and that was it.

“Is there a place in here where I can go to rest for a while?”

“Yes, of course. Aisha will take you to one of the rooms so you can sleep.”

The woman who hadn’t spoken yet moved next to Phil. Judging by the olive color of her skin, she was Aisha. But instead of leading Ian to a place with a bed, she asked a question.

“What do we do with the third guy, Phil?”

“What third guy?”

Aisha left the industrial unit and came back a couple of minutes later pushing a blindfolded and blond asshole. The fact that had been gagged didn’t surprise any of the three South Siders. He could annoy a fucking monkey in less than one minute.

“Scott!” Fuck his life. He was never going to get rid of him. “Wh- What the fuck is he doing here?”

“He had been following you since you left the hotel. He witnessed everything. We couldn’t leave him there. Hypnos would have got him and tortured him until he would have told them every single detail.”

“That motherfucker shits himself watching Beetlejuice. He would have told them everything just seeing his faces.” Yes, Mickey wasn’t fond of Ian’s ex-boyfriend and he would use every opportunity he had to mock him.

The scriptwriter pinched the bridge of his nose. He could hear Scott’s muffled whines and he found them annoying as the rest of him. So he decided to ignore them. Fuck! When was that day going to end?

“Look, can’t you lock him up somewhere until we solve all this?” It was clear Phil was the one in charge there, so he had addressed the question to him. Ian was tired and wanted to forget about everything for a few hours. Was that too much to ask?

“Sure.”

“Good. Now Aisha, take me to the room.”

And there at that moment, Mickey couldn’t help feeling he had lost something more than his freedom that night. A part of his soul darkened as Ian went out of the place without a single word, without even looking back. And he wondered over and over why was that a crisis in his eyes again?  

\------------------------

Ian didn’t know why he was surprised he hadn’t been able to sleep a wink. But he had been lying on that bed for one hour and nothing had happened. His brain was playing with him. That wasn’t something new. For some years, he had known he had a ticking bomb in his head, now he had to add a piece of silicate glass to that. He was the definition of fucked up.

The mattress wasn’t helping though. It has hard as a rock and the small room was a bit cold. But if his mind hadn’t been racing faster than the Road Runner, he would have slept like a baby.

He jerked up when someone knocked on the door. He wasn’t expecting visitors. Not when had spent the last few hours running for his life and being beaten. He wasn’t in the mood to speak to anybody, but he was curious. So he told whoever the fuck it was to come in.

He saw piercing blue eyes and black hair. Mandy was standing on the threshold waiting for a reaction from Ian. The ginger relaxed when he saw her. She was the only Milkovich he tolerated to see at that moment. Ian tapped on the spot next to him on the bed and she sat there.

“We haven’t had the opportunity to catch up, you know? Last time I saw you, you were celebrating you got accepted at college.”

He smiled when he remembered it. Fiona was very proud of him telling everybody another Gallagher was going to college. They were at the alibi and he was pretty wasted. But he managed to tell Mandy the good news. The happy memory turned bitter when he realized Hypnos could have had something to do with that. Maybe it hadn’t been an achievement of his own. Shit! What had been real in his life?

“How are you, Mandy?”

“Well, let’s see. I’m 23, not pregnant and not in jail. I think I’m fucking great in a Milkovich scale. Where is my goddamned medal? I set a record here.”

Only Mandy could get Ian laugh after all he was going through. He had always thought she was gorgeous. And he knew that had he been straight he would have fallen for her. And not only because she was the female version of Mickey, he already believed that when they went to school together.

“You know he really likes you.”

Mandy had been looking everywhere but Ian. She finally set her blue eyes on him and waited for a reaction. Ian at first didn’t know who that _he_ referred to. After denying publically several times he wasn’t gay, the scriptwriter wasn’t expected his sister knew. He must have told her then, Mandy had never been so perceptive.

Ian snorted.

“No he doesn’t. And if he does, he has a fucking weird way to show it.”

“He just needs time.”

The redhead barked a dry laugh. Why was she trying to stand up for her brother when there was nothing to defend?

“He’s married. To a woman!”

“Yeah, he’s married to a lesbian.”

His green eyes widened and his heart skipped a beat. All that time he had been torturing himself with the fact that Mickey was married. At first because he was sure the mechanic was straight and then because he thought he was a coward.

“So they are each other’s beards?”

“To be honest, Mickey had never been good at having a beard. In both senses of that word.”

A pillow hit Mandy’s face. She was lucky Ian hadn’t been able to reach something harder to thrown to her. “I’m serious, Mandy!”

“Jesus, Ian! Look, there’s something you need to understand. Mickey isn’t trying to be something he isn’t, he’s trying to survive. Mickey was coming to terms with his sexuality when my piece of trash of a father found out his youngest son was a fag. Frank might be an asshole, but he doesn’t give a shit who you fuck, he just accepts it. The problem is when your father is the biggest son of a bitch and a homophobe.”

She proceeded to throw the pillow back to Ian. She arched an eyebrow that hid under her bangs. Then she got up and turned to face her friend again.

“You two have tons of shit to work out. So do all of us a favor and grow a pair. This situation is already fucked up enough by itself. Go talk to him!”

Mandy was out of the door before he could react. He had been figuratively and literally smacked in the face. He blinked twice and ran a hand through his red hair.

“Well, shit.”

\-------------------------

It wasn’t really hard to find him. He was out smoking under a sky full of stars. Mickey didn’t even flinch when Ian sat on the curb next to him.

The scriptwriter didn’t know how to begin that conversation. He was nervous and he wasn’t able to come up with the right words to break the ice.

But Mickey seemed to notice Ian was making an effort, so he offered his cigarette to the other man. Ian looked down at Mickey’s hand for a moment. The mechanic wasn’t looking at him, but the redhead accepted the offering and relaxed.

“This thing about Hypnos is crazy, huh?”

Ian held his breath. He was waiting for a reaction from Mickey. The possibilities he were mad at him were higher than fucking Mount Kilimanjaro.

“I know man, I’m expecting the Zetas fill the sky anytime. I’m out here waiting for a sign or some shit”

“If they come here on their UFOs and demand to see our leader I would drive them to Justin Bieber’s place. That guy is annoying as fuck.”

Mickey turned his head and looked at Ian. He had started to breathe again when the older man talked to him. But his eyes had a special glowing under the starlight and Ian forgot he was supposed to take air in order to keep living.

“No shit! I thought he gave you a boner.”

“You’re a dick!”

The ginger punched Mickey in his shoulder and both laughed for a short time. That helped to break the tension. So Ian gathered all his strength and changed the subject.

“I suppose we’re in this together.” He stretched his arm and gave the smoke back to his owner.

“It seems like it.”

“Look, we need to fully trust each other if we want to make it. I know things about you and you about me from the dreams. But I can’t tell which ones are true or false.”

“So what do you propose?”

Ian eyed him for a moment. He took the cigarette from Mickey’s fingers and gave a final drag before putting it out.

“Just ask. If there’s something we remember about the dreams that we want to know whether it’s true, we ask.”

Mickey stared at the younger man. It wasn’t a bad idea but he didn’t like to talk about his life. If someone asked him a personal question, he would tell them to mind their fucking business. If he wasn’t having a good day, a punch in the guts would be the answer. But again, this was Ian. And since he had found him some weeks ago, he had had recurring nightmares that he had been loved for who he was and he had missed the opportunity to be a better man. Well, at that very moment he decided to control the dreams he had while he was awake. And fuck him if he was willing to make that nightmare come true.

“I’ll start. Is it true you were shot in the ass?”

“Fuck you for that question man!”

Ian shrugged. He wanted to know. The redhead knew a lot of people who had been shot but no one in their butts or anywhere near there.

“Yes, I was shot in the fucking ass. Fucking old lady. At least she didn’t aim to my dick.”

And thank god for that. Ian loved that cock. He loved the ass too but the damage would have been worse in the other scenario.

“Okay. It’s my turn. Do you have to take those pills in the real world?”

The scriptwriter sighed. He had dreaded that question, but he knew he had to face it. Besides, it had been his idea to be honest to each other.

“Yes. I grabbed a bottle of pills before leaving the hotel room. I’m fucked if I don’t take them. The funny thing is that before having to run for my life, I thought bipolarity was the worst thing that could have happened to me. It isn’t now.”

There, he had said it. He waited for Mickey’s reaction with his eyes fixed on the sky. Mickey didn’t know what bipolarity was. He was aware it was something serious but he didn’t want to push Ian. So he would wait for another occasion to ask. It had been enough for that night.

“You know you and I must fight to survive, right?”

The younger man smirked and closed his eyes for a moment enjoying the presence of Mickey by his side. When he opened them again, he continued looking at the stars.

“Yeah, but together we’re invincible.”

Mickey snorted and shook his head while he tried his best to save his heart from melting. “Shut the fuck up, Gallagher.”

The two men pretended they hadn’t seen the smile on each other’s faces.


	9. Iron Sky

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Unbeta'd.   
> I hope you like this new chapter. And happy new year!!!!!  
> Thanks for reading :)

It was weird to wake up in a cold room with metal walls. His house wasn’t the warmest and coziest place but Svetlana always turned the heating on in the morning when she woke up. The perks of being married to a Russian.

They’d better had prepared a breakfast suitable for a Baratheon feast to compensate the cold. His balls were so shrunk that Mickey would have need a microscope to find them. For a moment he had thought he had turned into eunuch during the night. He mused that at least he would have had a hell of a voice.

No such luck. Oatmeal and black coffee. That was it. How were they supposed to start another day with that shit breakfast? The mechanic was sure that was a felony according to a law. Maybe not in America, but in Norway or any other North European country.

“When did we travel through time and ended up in fucking 1861? I’m pretty sure this shit hasn’t been a meal since the Civil War.” Mickey chewed with a grimace in his face. He had never been subtle when he didn’t like something. He wasn’t going to start at that moment.

“Is he usually so grumpy in the morning?” The thug raised his eyebrows and turned his look to the young man who had just spoken. Mickey eyed him for a second and he came out with several names based on his dark skin. He recognized him from the group that had captured them the previous night. Judging by his biceps, he must have been the guy Mandy tried to knock down pushing him.

“Don’t look at me. We have only slept in the same bed once and it was like for five minutes.” As he had expected, Ian was smiling and he was fucking perfect. He was exactly the same little happy fucker he had been in the hotel.

“And who the fuck are you, Captain Bollywood?” The black-haired man ignored Ian and focused all his attention on the new guy.

“I’m Dev.” He was clearly more diplomatic than Mickey. If he had heard the reference to his Indian origins, he decided to overlook it. The well-built man extended his hand to shake it with Mickey’s. However, the mechanic wasn’t in a good mood for multiple reasons and he turned his attention back to his breakfast.

“You should take wars more seriously. You’re living one, Mr. Milkovich.”

Phil was standing on the threshold looking at everyone in the kitchen – considering you call a room with nothing but a stove and a big table with chairs a kitchen.

“Last time I checked they only guns I saw were yours.”

Ian decided not to intervene, he was too curious to know where that conversation was going. Mickey had seemed to forget the knife that guy threatened to stab in their guts the previous day in the dream. He dropped the brass spoon and stretched on the chair. The mechanic looked at him and got distracted for a moment watching how his abs drew under his green T-shirt. Ian smirked as if he could read the dirty thoughts the black-haired man had. He cleared his voice and looked back to Phil.

“You should know by now wars are not only fought with arms. Haven’t you learnt anything from the Cold War?”

“I know more than anyone in this room about guns. But let’s say I only opened a book to hide the drugs I sold at school. So no, I haven’t.”

“I’m not surprised it doesn’t surprise me.”

Ian was enjoying that. It was like watching a tennis match, turning his head from right to left waiting for the comebacks. Mickey had found someone as cocky as him and he was going to have so much fun. If only he had popcorn.

“What the fuck does it mean?” The mechanic was already sick of all that bullshit. That was why he didn’t like to go out of the South Side. Everybody thought they were better than him. Well, fuck them.

“Nothing. Finish your breakfast and meet me in the hall. I need you all there in five minutes.”

Dev took Phil’s announcement as a cue to follow him and soon Ian and Mickey were left alone in the kitchen.

“This is shit.”

Ian had resumed eating so he had to wait to finish chewing to answer the older man. He stared to the wall for a second before answering.

“It’s not pancakes but this oatmeal isn’t so bad. It makes a better combination with the coffee than expected.”

“I wasn’t talking about this shit.” He motioned to his own bowl. “I’m talking about that other piece of shit.” And then pointed to the door where Phil was standing moments ago.

The ginger nodded. He had known Mickey had been alluding to the former Hypnos worker. But he liked teasing the man he pinned for.

“You shouldn’t go there.”

“Go where?”

Mickey was confused. They were talking about fucking Phil not about a fucking place. The scriptwriter drove him crazy. In more than one way.

“To the place where you fuck this up.”

“I’m not fucking this up, Gallagher. He is. With all that air of superiority and telling us what to do. Who does he think he is? Nick Fury? Well, he has just met his Tony Stark. He can go fuck himself.”

Ian could tell Mickey was a ticking boom. He had never been good at that red or blue wire thing but he had to do something. That was the safest shelter he could think of and fuck him if he was going to stand and watch it burn.

“Listen to me, Mick. Do you hear that low but irritating noise? Yes, you do, because we’re the only two who can hear that. That fucking noise keeps us safe, it allows us to sleep without being followed by some nuts trying to kill us. I understand Phil can be irritating but he and his people saved us. After beating us, yes.” Mickey shook his nose and looked at his hands which were resting on the table. “But he’s our only option to get Hypnos out of our heads. So I’ll tell you just one more time in case you didn’t hear me before. Don’t fuck this up.”

His words entered Mickey’s head roughly but slowly. Every one of them sank in him like the Titanic in the Atlantic Ocean. He hated when someone else was right, especially if it was against him beating the shit out of some bastard.

“And you’d better go wake up Mandy.”

“I can’t. I haven’t finished this fodder yet.” He wasn’t about to eat more of that. However, he didn’t feel like dealing with a basilisk that morning. Mandy had turned into a giant snake whenever he tried to wake her up.

“What if she’s naked?”

“You’re gay.”

“And you’re her brother. And gay.”

Mickey thought it was too early for another fight and he didn’t feel like telling Ian to fuck off. So he admitted the defeat to himself. “Fine.”

The mechanic stood up and disappeared through the door. The redhead stayed in the same room with a big smile in his face because, for the first time, Mickey hadn’t denied his sexuality.

\-------------------------

The hall wasn’t the place where they have met Phil for the first time. It was a smaller room but with a big table in the center and several computers on smaller tables around the hall. The industrial unit wasn’t very bright but that room was darker than the rest of it. You could imagine the only source of light emanated from the screens hanging on the walls.

“What’s all the rush about? I was banging Michael Fassbender in my dreams.”

Mandy had been complaining since she opened her eyes after being hit by a cushion. Okay, Mickey recognized it hadn’t been the nicest way to bring her back to the living world but he didn’t need to know that shit.

“Gross Mandy. Shut the fuck up!”

“What? Since when are you the only one to have the right to fuck a hot tall ginger while dreaming?”

If she wasn’t his sister, Mickey had murdered that bitch a long time ago. Fucking sibling bond.

“We have to talk about the plan to bring Hypnos down.”

“Oh, is there a plan already?” The three Southsiders sat around the table where the other five people were waiting for them.

“Yes, it has been planned for months. We just needed a last key piece.”

“And let me guess. You’re the mastermind of the plan.”

Mickey felt a kick in his leg coming from the right. He didn’t have to look or remember to know it was Ian who beat him. He finally looked at the younger man and mouthed an _okay_. Mandy had to repress a laugh because she knew what it was going on.

Despite Mickey’s words, Phil decided to ignore him and stood up.

“Let me ask you a question. Yesterday, how did you escape from the dream?”

Mickey and Ian looked at each other. They hadn’t had too much time to think about it. They had been so grateful and happy for escaping from that murder squad that it had been enough for them. Then, they had to run again; Scott had appeared and no more time to think.

“We’re not sure. We were cornered in that roof and those lunatics were about to kill us. But we saw a mattress on the road and jumped. Everything went black and the next thing I remember, we were back in the hotel.”

Ian made an effort to recall anything else to tell. Any detail that would help to clear up how they got out of there. But nothing came to his mind.

But Phil seemed to had figured it out. His eyes were wide open and started to wander across the room. “That’s it! The jump.”

Everybody looked at him as if they were watching someone drinking unicorn blood. So he decided to elaborate. 

“Do you know that uncomfortable feeling of free falling when you’re sleeping and you suddenly wake up and you sleep immediately right after?” The other seven people nodded. “You had a free fall. That’s how you escaped!”

“So mean if someone trapped in the dreams jumps from a determinate height, they will go back to the real world?” The oldest man of all - at some point he had introduced himself as Ben – had asked the question and he was waiting for the confirmation.

“Yes! That’s what I’m saying. We finally found a way out!”

Phil’s crew cheered. The Southsiders looked at them in amazement. They understood they had all lost a loved one in this Hypnos project. But Ian and Mickey had lived it and they hadn’t thought of it as a great achievement before that.

“Are you saying you didn’t know any way out?” Mandy was tired of waiting for Ian or Mickey to make the obvious questions. So she decided to make them herself from now on.

“We hadn’t had the opportunity before. As I said last night, we removed the chip from my brother and that was the only occasion we found to deal with a Hypnos victim.” There was something in Aisha’s dark brown eyes that changed every time she mentioned her brother. It was similar to turn off one light in a room with ten lamps. It’s hard to notice, but you feel it’s not as bright as before.

“So this is going to be the first attempt to bring Hypnos down? Fucking great.”

“You’ve got to understand that Hypnos victims are dead or trapped in the dreams or they hadn’t been activated ye?”

“What the fuck?!” The two Milkovich siblings and Ian talked at the same time.

“What Phil means here is that people whose chips have been activated had reached to a point where they hadn’t been able to distinguish between reality and the dream world and they had ended up killing themselves. In other cases, they had tried to meet with their partner in the dreams. However they are trapped in there. You’re the only couple who made it.”

“That’s very encouraging.” Ian mumbled feeling so sorry for all those people. Mickey and he could have been one of them.

The mechanic, however, was in another mood. He clapped his hands and laid them on the table. “Okay, let’s move on. What’s the big plan?”

“You two.”

Phil pointed Ian and Mickey. They both raised their eyebrows at the same time. They hadn’t seen that coming. Nevertheless, they still didn’t understand what he had meant.

“What?” The question was said at the same time by the two men. Phil could tell the anger and confusion in their voices.

“Hypnos isn’t perfect. Every single asset in the dreams has information about the project. This is a two way route of information. The persons you interact with are people you have seen in your life that your brain has registered. A woman standing next to you while you wait for the traffic light to turn green or the man who sold you a train ticket six months ago.”

“You have never been to the South Side, have you? We never wait for the green light.” Mandy thought that was a relevant piece of information. But judging from the way Phil looked at her, it wasn’t.

“As I was saying, those people are controlled by Hypnos. They tried to kill you the moment they noticed your minds were conscious in the dream. It takes some time because they need to receive all the data and send the commands. That’s our advantage. So the plan is you entering the dream world and getting information out of someone there and jumping before they realize what is going on.”

“And what is that information we need to get?”

Mickey fisted his hand while Ian asked the question. He felt the older man’s breath become more violent.

“I need you to know where Hypnos’ headquarters are, they changed the place after I left. And the names of the next couple to be activated.”

“Fuck you!” The whole room stayed silence after Mickey’s shout. Seven pairs of eyes were on him waiting for the mechanic to control his anger. However, Ian and Mandy knew it was too late. The boom had stopped ticking and it was exploding.

“Mickey…” Phil took a slow step towards him in attempt to calm him down. But it didn’t matter what he did, the thug would take it as an offence.

“No! Fuck you!” Mickey stood up violently. Ian tried to get him down but he pushed the ginger’s hands. “We have this kind of iron sky pressing us and entering our minds for weeks and you want us to risk our lives when we hardly got out of there the last time? I’m not the chick from The Hunger Games. This is the real life!”

“Awwwwww Mick, does it mean I’m Peeta? It kinda make sense. I like kneading asses.”

Ian would have sworn he saw red rays coming from Mickey’s eyes. But he hadn’t become dust, so it had been just his imagination. It would have been an unfair death, though. He just wanted to cut some tension.

Mickey had had enough. He flipped them off and left the room. Mandy knew it wasn’t her turn to try to smooth someone. She had successfully done it last night with Ian. She kicked the Gallagher under the table and motioned with her head to the door when he looked at her with pain in his face. He sighed and followed Mickey.

Mandy was proud of herself. After all, the only one who could smooth her brother at that moment was a hot tall ginger.

\-------------------------

Mickey closed the door of the room where he had slept the previous night only to kick it hard. He would have repeated the action if the door hadn’t been suddenly opened revealing Ian.

“Don’t. Whatever you are going to say, just don’t.”

Ian took a step towards the older man and Mickey instinctively took another back. The redhead looked at him for a moment and then closed the door behind him. When he turned back he found the mechanic pacing in the room.

“That’s what Hypnos wants. He wants to control us, to have us! And they will if we dream.”

“I understand you’re scared. I’m too. But this is it, Mick. If we are successful we will end with this nightmare and no one will control us.”

Mickey sighed. Since when did he listen to people? Especially when they were right. It was his thing, being a stubborn fucker and not listening to people. But Ian was crashing all that down.

“I’m so sick of all this, Gallagher.” He had stopped in his tracks and he was looking directly to the other man’s green eyes.

“So let’s do this. Don’t you wanna be free?”

“Of fucking course I do. We’re not machines! We’re not cattle! We’re men!” Mickey felt proud of himself once he quoted Charles Chaplin. The Great Dictator was one of the few films they had had at the Milkovich house. So he had watched that old film hundreds of times.

“Let’s burn those assholes down!”

He could see Ian’s red hair turning brighter and his eyes glowing. It was burning passion. A feeling the thug felt back. All over his life, Mickey had been controlled. First by Terry. He used his fists and insults to have control over him. And then, Hypnos had implanted a chip in his head to turn him into a puppet.

But Mickey was sure of one him at that point. Nobody could give them the power to rise over love. And he had decided to be free.

So he didn’t lose more time. He put his hand on the back of the redhead’s neck and he crashed his lips on Ian’s. The younger responded immediately to the kiss and they lost track of time. 

Before long, Ian pinned Mickey up against the wall and trailed kisses down his throat. Each brush of the redhead’s lip burned on Mickey’s skin. But he didn’t care. He was the petrol and Ian was the fire.

The scriptwriter went down on his knees and undid the other man’s jeans. Mickey could feel his arousal growing. He knew what it was coming. He had dreamed so many times with that moment that he almost comes when he felt Gallagher’s lips around his cock.

The mechanic forgot all he had imagined, the real thing was way much better. He was in heaven. Ian sucked eagerly and the thug thought he wasn’t going to make it when he started to deep throat him.

But that was just the beginning. Ian was determined to show he really did like kneading asses. So once he decided his butt was ready, he took a small bottle of lube from his wallet and entered one lubed finger in Mickey.

One of the perks of being Hypnos victims was that they knew what the other liked. Mickey ran a hand through his lover and his breath hitched while Ian fingered him.

Ian knew what he was doing. He wanted it to be a time Mickey would never forget. So once he aimed, he easily found the black-haired man’s sweet spot. The loud moan that escaped from Mickey’s mouth was his confirmation. Ian introduced a second digit and kept sucking. He knew Mickey wasn’t going to last long, so soon after entering the third finger and continuously brushing the prostate, the mechanic tugged hard his hair and Ian stopped.

Mickey needed some time to recover from almost exploding, but that ginger fucker was impatient as shit. He didn’t know how it had happened but, suddenly, he was on his back being dragged across the floor. He wanted to fight, but Ian was on him before he could react. The redhead liked it rough and the mechanic could only encourage that.

He snapped out of it and flipped them off. Mickey took advantage of being on top and kissed him again. He took Ian’s T-shirt off and he finally felt that abs that drove him crazy. He even kissed them while he undid his lover’s jeans. He finally released that perfect dick and stroked it until Ian gave him a condom.

The mechanic tore the wrapper with his teeth and unfolded it on Ian’s cock. Then took the lube and covered the condom with it. He stopped a moment to contemplate the gorgeous man he was straddling. That was it. He was going to ride that dick like a cowboy.

But suddenly, he was on his back again. He felt Ian’s cock entering his hole slowly but with determination. He didn’t stop until he bottomed out. Mickey had to hold one of the metal legs of the bed to feel he was still on earth.

Once Ian gave some time to adjust, he began to move. And at that moment he knew it was the day he was going to die. He felt electricity running through his veins. Every time he slammed Mickey it was another shock of pure pleasure. Mickey was feeling the same. He tried to suppress his moans biting his lips but it didn’t work. His eyes had been closed since Ian was in him and he made the mistake of opening them.

Ian was covered with sweat looking down at Mickey like if he was his lord and master. Mickey wished he’d stop looking him with those eyes because he was going to lose it.

“Mickey…” The redhead’s lips covered his again. It was a biting kiss fed on lust. Ian pounded faster and found the prostate again. Mickey shouted louder and he didn’t even care. He was seeing stars. The mechanic raised his legs and put them on Ian’s back.

The scriptwriter knew his lover was close. He always put his legs on his back when his felt he was about to come in the dreams. So he moved one of his hands and put it on Mickey’s cock. He began to stroke and he felt his own release building.

Mickey was the first to come. He yelled Ian’s name and almost passed out. He hadn’t come so hard in his life. Ian just needed two more thrust and he slumped blissfully on top of Mickey.

While he was catching his breath, Mickey could only think on one thing. He was convinced. If he had survived that, he would certainly beat the shit out of those fuckers in the dream world.


	10. Who’s Got a Match?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Beta'd by baclblood. I hope you like it!!!

Ian never missed a birthday. Even since he moved to Los Angeles. If any of his siblings or friends turned one year older, he was the first to phone in the morning. The Gallaghers had a rooted tradition of having pancakes on someone’s birthday. The birthday boy or girl got to choose the flavor. It was a sacred thing for them. So sacred that when Fiona’s boyfriend Jimmy slept over for the first time, Debbie told him it was her birthday and he got up at six in the morning to cook the pancakes. He wanted to make a good impression and he did. Too bad it really wasn’t the girl’s birthday. Not even anytime soon.

Lip and Ian kept that tradition after moving to L.A. They went to each other’s apartment and made pancakes for the birthday boy. They felt bad whenever it was one their sibling’s day. So they always sent generous presents by mail to make it for their absence. Last time had been Liam’s birthday and they bought him a tablet.

So that day, when Ian woke up, his first thought was on Debbie. He had been feeling like shit for not being able to phone his little sister for her birthday. And given the circumstances, he really had believed his day was going to be darker than a moonless night. However he couldn’t stop smiling. For a moment he felt a spark of remorse because he shouldn’t be so happy. But he was naked on the floor next to Mickey, both enjoying the afterglow. The cool tiles his back touched should have him shiver but he could only feel the heat emanating from Mickey’s body and his heart beating faster than ever while they both breathed heavily.

Was that even real? Maybe Ian was dreaming. Perhaps it was the dream world and all that about Mickey being gay was an illusion. It was too real to be true. So he extended his arm and pinched Mickey’s.

He immediately moved the limb away from Ian’s reach. “What the fuck, Gallagher! If you like this shit you’re doing it wrong, it’s supposed to be during not after sex!”

 _“Yep, wide awake_.” Ian smiled at Mickey again. A reaction pretty weird as the mechanic was sending him death glares. “Sorry, it’s just that I needed to be sure this was real.”

Mickey looked at him as if he had an unresolved Sudoku on his forehead. “Your cock was erupting like a volcano inside my ass five seconds ago, isn’t it real enough for you? You still have the condom on your dick.”

“I can’t believe I have to remind you why we were fucking in this fucking igloo instead of in the comfortable room of the hotel, which by the way, has heating. The dreams Mickey.”

“Okay, that makes sense. But still, next time you do that shit, I’ll rip your hand off.”

Ian nodded. He was aware you are supposed to pinch yourself on the arm and not others. But he had needed to touch Mickey again. “Fair enough.”

Both men stayed still for some more seconds. An awkward silence filled the room and they shot glances to each other trying to come up with something to say. Actually, Ian knew what he wanted to say but he didn’t know why. Maybe, a post-coital moment wasn’t the best scenario to ask the question that had been messing with his head since the previous night. But they were already fucked up.

“So, have you ever thought about getting the divorce?”

The mechanic turned his head to face his lover and furrowed his brows. “Why would I divorce Svetlana?”

Ian cleared his throat. Perhaps he wasn’t speaking very clearly. “Mickey, you’re gay.”

“So what? She’s a lesbian. It’s not like I’m lying to her or some shit.”

Mickey’s tone made obvious he didn’t like where that conversation was going. But Ian thought it was about time Mickey knew he didn’t have to continue with the pantomime his life had become.

“Look, I get you care about her but you don’t have to spend the rest of your life with someone you can’t love just because your father is an homophobic asshole. You can-“

“Don’t act like you know a thing about my dad!” Mickey had stood up. His jaw was set and his look fix in Ian. His voice resounded all over the room. The scriptwriter, far from panicking, stood up and faced the furious black-haired man.

“Mickey, you can’t let him get away with this.”

“Shut the fuck up!” It wasn’t the first time Mickey told him those words. However, it was the way he said it that made a knot settle in his throat. “Is it easy for you to be a fag? Congrat-fucking-lations. Not for me. We practically met three weeks ago. You don’t get to say shit about my life. You don’t know me!

“I’ve known you for almost five months! I’ve slept with you every night and told you all about my fucking day over dinner every night!”

Mickey knew that. He was aware they knew each other better than anyone else. Those dreams were a parallel life which they had shared for five months. Five months according to the dreams.

“Yeah, keep telling yourself that. But the truth is this: you’re nothing but a warm mouth to me.”

Mickey could see the moment a crack appeared on Ian’s soul. It was the same he felt in his when he pronounced that lie. He knew something was going to burn that night because he had the petrol to set the fire. However, Mickey had never been good at stopping himself. So instead of trying to fix it, he turned away and left Ian with fire in his hand.

________________________

“Wow. You smell like sex.” The mechanic had just closed the room when he saw his sister and Dev. He didn’t have time to deal with that shit. He just needed a fucking minute alone. “I told you they had fucked like animals. You owe me 20 bucks.”

“Fuck off, bitch!” The mechanic was determined to dream and kick some asses. But he would be doomed if he didn’t get something from that. So he spotted Phil in the hall and went directly towards him ignoring Mandy and Dev’s steps behind him. Still, he could hear them.

“That’s so unfair, you’re the sister! You know your brother.”

“You should have thought about it sooner. I was already his sister when we betted.”

The mechanic snorted, because how was Mandy to know when he was about to have sex? He didn’t even know it. What had just happened with Ian had been unexpected. All of it. His brain wouldn’t stop sending him images of what had just happened. Shivers running through his body while he felt the ghost of Ian’s body on his. But he was determined to put that aside and focus on what he had to do.

“Yo, I’ll do it.” He tried not to show it, but the thug could perceive a small smile on Phil’s face. That didn’t impress him though. “But only if I can call my wife.”

The former Hypnos worker looked away and with a simple _no_ , continued reading the papers he had on his hand.

Mickey licked his bottom lip, he was running out of patience, that stupid ginger had wasted most of it. “Listen, asshole. I’m not going to put my ass in danger if I don’t tell my wife she can’t go back to our place tomorrow as we agreed. Because if she does, my father will kill her. And if she dies, I’m going to open your stomach and rip your guts out before blowing your fucking head, okay?”

“Are you always so grumpy?” It wasn’t really a question. However, Phil got an answer. But not from Mickey.

“Most of the time, but he shouldn’t be right now. Not after having a dick in his ass.”

Mickey turned around to face his sister. Was she out of her mind? Why was she saying that? He was going to kill her.

“Mandy, what the fuck?”

“What? Do you think I had to see your little walk of shame to know Ian and you fucked? That Phil didn’t know? We could hear you from the kitchen. You were so fucking loud they heard you even in fucking Tatooine!”

Mickey sighed. He really needed some holidays. Those were supposed to be his holidays. Three days seeing his sister and having hot and heavy gay sex with Ian. Instead, he was trapped in an industrial unit fuck knows where and fighting to get to speak with his wife.

“Just mind your own business.” The mechanic turned his head back to Phil and raised his brows. He’d better not refuse his request a second time.

“Okay. But think about what you’re going to tell her because this will be the only time you’ll get to call her.”

Before Mickey could nod or even react to Phil’s words, he froze. He didn’t expect to hear his voice so soon.

“I want to call my sister.” Ian’s voice was calm. But Mickey distinguished the covered anger in his tone. Besides, it was all over his face. Especially, in the way his jaw was clenched.

“Oh, I’m sorry. I forgot this was the Four Seasons. Do you also want to order some room service?” Phil wasn’t funny. It hadn’t been his intention but they all could hear Ben’s small laugh.

“It’s a bit unfair that we both risk our lives but only him can call his family. Besides, he has Mandy here, I have no one.”

“I think you forget your boyfriend.”

Mickey had to bite his tongue after saying that. It hadn’t been wise. He didn’t want Ian to lose control and start a fight that would lead to Phil changing his mind. Besides, it pissed him off more Mickey mentioning Scott than Ian hearing it. But the mechanic had done it to get the other man’s attention. He hadn’t even looked at him since he appeared.

“Another twenty bucks they suck each other's dicks before the dream."

"No way Mandy, you're not fooling me again." Dev left the room before Mandy came out with any other stupid bet.

However, Ian continued to ignore him and waited for Phil’s answer. The former Hypnos worker must have been in a good mood that morning because for a second time in five minutes, he agreed.

“Mickey, you go first. Ian, you’ll have to wait a couple of hours.”

_________________________

Mickey left the watch on the night stand – or the stool that was supposed to be a night stand – and waited for the watch hand to be on the twelve. It was Aisha’s. She has lent him the watch after Phil said it was important the call didn’t last more than two minutes. She understood he needed privacy, so she offered it to him.

He dialed the number Svetlana had provided him and waited. It was safer to call a land line than a mobile phone.

“Hello?” The strong Russian accent was familiar, but the voice wasn’t. That must have been Nika.

“Hi, is Svetlana there? It’s Mickey.”

He took her shouting in Russian as a yes and waited a few seconds. He looked at the watch, he had one minute and forty five seconds left.

“You piece of shit of a husband. You told me you would call every night. You didn’t call last night.” Svetlana was clearly pissed. But he was so relieved to hear her voice that he didn’t mind.

“Shit, I know, okay? Listen, I don’t have much time. Things got weird here.”

“What? Orange boy didn’t want to do ass fuck with you?”

Mickey gapped. What the fuck? He didn’t expect her to know. He told her he was visiting Mandy.

“What? It’s not that. How do you know about Gallagher?”

“You had that grin on your ugly face and you jerked off more than once every day. I’m not stupid. You’re in love.”

The mechanic ran a hand through his face. He had exactly said the words he didn’t want to accept. How weird was talking about you banging a guy with your wife?

“I’m not in fucking love. Listen! I don’t have time for this. I won’t be back tomorrow. I can’t explain why but you need to give me a couple of days more. Call in sick at work and stay at Nika’s, alright?”

Twenty seconds left.

“Mickey, are you okay? Because if this is because you want to try more gay sex positions I swear to god.”

“No! Just trust me. I have to hang up. Do what I say. And stay safe, please.”

He could still hear her babbling when he ended the phone. He checked the watch. Three seconds left. He could have say something else. Something to make her smile. Something for her to remember if that was the last time they heard each other’s voices.

_________________________

The room was darker than the one he slept. However, the mattress seemed to be the same shit. It was cold as fuck and Ian tried to stop the chills in vain. However, he crossed the threshold and closed the door behind him.

“Ian! Welcome to my castle! Excuse me for not offering a snack, the butler is off today.”

 He wasn’t sure what had made him go to see Scott. Maybe because he wanted to check on him after all. Or because Mickey had mentioned him. Or simply because of Mickey.

“You seem calm.”

Scott waved his hand and changed his position on the bed. “I won’t deny it. I was scared at first but then I thought about it and hey, I don’t have to pay an expensive hotel room in New York.”

“Then you win. Mine was already paid.” Ian sat on the mattress next to his ex-boyfriend. It wasn’t like the other times. This time he kept distance. Scott twitched his lips and sniffed.

“So you had been dreaming with this Mickey for a few weeks.”

“Yeah, I mean, we both have been dreaming with each other for a weeks. It’s something I can’t avoid.”

Scott nodded. There was something in him. Something had changed. Ian could see it.

“That’s why you left me.”

“No, I left you because you’re an asshole.” Ian bumped his shoulder with him. For a moment he was worried he had taken it seriously, but Scott smiled and Ian joined him.

“Yes, you’re right. I’m an asshole. And I get it.”

“That you’re an asshole or that I left you?”

Scott ran a hand through his sandy hair and took a minute before talking. Ian looked at him as he was seeing this new person. In all the time they had been together, they had never had that kind of conversation. Scott had never assumed he was wrong and he would have lost his shit by then. But instead he breathed deeply and answered.

“Both actually. Look, you’re a great guy. Nice, gorgeous, smart and funny. And I’m crazy about you. But you deserve someone who really put you first. Not an asshole that only think how things are going to affect him and freak out and pressure you the second things are not going the way he wants. You deserve much more.”

Ian knew Scott was talking about himself. But he couldn’t avoid seeing Mickey in what he had said. Oh the irony. Mickey hated Scott and him and the mechanic fitted in the same description.

The scriptwriter stood up. Two hours had already passed and he had to call Debbie. He walked towards the door but he suddenly stopped in his tracks. He turned and looked at Scott. “You know what? Come with me. You don’t have to be here.”

Phil could say shit, Scott wasn’t going to be locked up anymore. He wasn’t a prisoner. Besides, he was dying to see Mickey’s face.

_________________________

Phil hadn’t said anything. He just nodded and reminded Ian that it had been his idea to lock Scott up. Then he gave him the phone and Aisha followed Ian and Scott to the kitchen. He didn’t mind others hearing his conversation with Debbie. So when Aisha made a sign, Ian dialed.

“Debbie, it’s for you!” Liam had picked up the phone but he hadn’t bothered to answer, he knew it wasn’t for him. Anyway, Ian smiled. He missed his little brother so much that it made him happy to hear his voice.

“Hello?”

“Hey Debs! Happy birthday!”

He heard a snort at the other side of the line.

“You’re a bad brother. You know Lip phoned me at eight in the morning? I don’t give a shit you’re in New York. I haven’t got out of the house waiting for your call. And it’s my birthday!”

He expected that. And he was glad Phil had agreed to this because if he survived to Hypnos, Debbie would kill him with her bare hands. His sister was scarier than anything sometimes.

“Yeah, I know. Sorry Debs, it had been a complicated day. Listen, I don’t have much time. Just tell Lip I won’t be back tomorrow and he must cover for me at work, okay?”

“Why don’t you call him yourself?”

He felt Aisha’s hand on him. He looked at her and she made a sign and let him know he had to end the phone call.

“I can’t. Just tell him that. I love you Debbie, I love you all. Enjoy your party tonight.”

And that’s how the call ended. Normally, speaking with his siblings made him happy. But he couldn’t ignore the hole he felt in his heart when he pressed the red button on the phone.

_________________________

“Okay, let’s do this!” They were all gathered on the hall when Mickey and Mandy got into the room. However, he noticed a new presence.

“What the fuck is he doing here?”

Ian had a smug smile on his face. Mickey betted his ass it was him responsible for Scott being out of his cage. That loser didn’t deserve to be there.

Mickey knew Ian had the right to be angry at him and he had had a conversation with himself in his room and resolved to apologize - in his own way, of course, which was making a joke and talk to Ian as if nothing had happened. But this changed things. He had crossed a line bringing his ex with him. What the fuck was he playing at?

"I'm here because Ian wants me here."

Scott's body was trying to intimidate the mechanic. But Mickey only wanted to punch that fucker in the face and cut his dick off.

"Well, I don't want you here so get the fuck out."

The redhead had to bite a smile. He expected that reaction in Mickey. He was jealous and that made Ian's blood rush in his veins.

"I'm feeling some bad vibes here so I guess they didn't fuck. Give me my twenty bucks." Dev extended his arm and opened his hand in front of Mandy.

"No fucking way. You didn't want to bet a second time, loser." Mandy pushed the hand away. She hated losing and she had an excuse this time. Besides, she wanted to know where that playground fight between that douchebag and her brother was going.

"You know Mickey, it's not my fault you're angry because Ian sucked my dick more times than you can count."

Everyone held their breaths and looked at Mickey. But his reaction was unusual. He took a cigarette from his pocket and put it between his lips. He seemed calm, what it was weird after what Scott had said. He finally showed a little smile and took the smoke off his lips.

"Who's got a match? Because I'm going to burn that motherfucker alive!"

He was full of rage. Ian could see fire emanating from his whole body. But the black-haired man could only take two steps before Mandy tried to stop him.

"Get the fuck off me."

"No, Mickey. Stop! Fuck! Dev, help me here!"

Between the two, they managed to stop an imminent death. And Ian saw it. He really needed that to end because they all were going to kill each other before even doing something to bring Hypnos down.

"Shit Scott! I knew I shouldn't have trusted you."

"What the fuck Ian? Am I not allowed to defend myself or what?"

"Enough!" One simple word from Phil made everyone stop. "We're here for a reason, so let's do what we came for."

They gathered around the big table in the center of the hall. Phil made a sign and the two men lied on it. Once there, Aisha and Ben put some electrodes on Mickey and Ian while Phil spoke.

"This is to monitor you in the dream and to know the exact moment you fall asleep. Once there, you have five real minutes to find out where Hypnos headquarters are and who will be the next couple to be activated."

They both nodded. They knew their mission. Even if they kinda hated each other at that moment, they needed to work together and they were both getting ready for it.

"Ey fuckers, stay alive okay?" Mandy held their hands for a moment and squeeze them. They both smiled at her.

"Okay, you ready?"

And suddenly, everything went black. Actually, they were getting used to it. 

 


	11. Out of the Black

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Beta'd by baclblood. Thanks for your amazing help.
> 
> This chapter is for the wonderful joidianne4eva.
> 
> Thanks for reading and sorry for taking so long.

Mickey was pondering on doing a classification about the different kinds of pain in the ass a human being can experience in their life. Because he really believed he had felt all of them. He had to add _falling from a high distance and hitting the concrete on your butt_ to the list. And thank god the old mattress softened the impact. Otherwise, the mechanic’s tailbone would have been completely smashed.

“Shit!” The black haired man couldn’t believe that Ian had only winced and got up so fast. If he hadn’t groped that ginger ass that very morning, he would have thought it was made of flubber instead of muscles and flesh.

The dream started exactly at the same spot the previous one had ended. In the middle of a fall. Ian’s first reaction after getting on his feet was looking up. They had jumped for a reason. They had been attacked by a horde of armed psychotic men, women and even a girl; all controlled by Hypnos. But they had disappeared.

 “They are gone.” Ian breathed the sentence softly. He knew Mickey could hear him and he was determined to only waste the time and effort necessary to make their mission work. Nothing less and nothing more.

“huh?” Mickey was still rubbing his ass. Seriously, how come Ian didn’t feel the pain? That little fucker was way more perfect than he had initially believed. Mickey hated it so much.

“The little girl and her army.” The redhead pointed the towards the roof of the abandoned building  Mickey had used so many times as a shelter away from his father. There was a time when he spent a whole week there. He always had some food hidden in any of the holes in the walls. And a pair of blankets were used as makeshift bed. That place was the cause why he dropped school but also it was the main reason he was alive.

“I’m sure Samara had a well to go to or something. What a little bitch.”

Mickey expected a comment from the other man, as always. But he only got silence and he watched in surprise how Ian just started to walk. Clearly, Ian was still pissed. Mickey knew that he had screwed it up. And he had been willing to apologize or kind of. But he felt betrayed. Something had changed when he saw Scott in that room next to Ian. He couldn’t help the feeling of his guts being removed every time he thought about Ian being touched by that blond jackass. Or any other guy. But that asshole had had the luck of kissing and feeling the redhead for months and he treated him like shit. The mechanic still wondered why he had been stopped when he had been about to break his two legs.

The black haired man ignored the pain in his ass and got up just went after Ian who was already far enough so Mickey had to run.

“Yo! Wait up, Gallagher!

And he did. But apparently not for Mickey. He was looking around him and at his watch over and over. Mickey tried it a second time.

“I’ll never get used to being out of the black.”

“Is that an euphemism for being out of the closet?”

At least he was in the mood for making jokes. That was always a good sign. Mickey couldn’t believe he was the one trying to have a conversation. In his opinion, it was him who shouldn’t even look at Ian. However, he kept trying.

“What…? No! I meant when we usually dream we don’t notice the transition from real to dream world. But this and the last time we see everything is fucking black and we suddenly are here and conscious and all that shit.”

Ian didn’t even look at him at that moment. He resumed walking again and Mickey, once more, followed him. After a few seconds, the red haired man opened his mouth again.

“You mean you’ll never get used to lucid dreams.”

“Huh?”

Ian sighed. Of fucking course Mickey hadn’t listened to Phil. He didn’t know why he hadn’t expected that. He still hadn’t learnt the lesson. He hadn’t learnt Mickey Milkovich avoids listening to people. He had a gun for a mouth and a bullet with his name on it. But he decided not to pull the trigger and wait a bit more.

“A lucid dream is a dream in which we’re conscious of us dreaming. Just like this one.”

He kept looking at his watch. They had already been there for three minutes and he needed to calculate how much time they have left. He had never been good at Maths and he shitted on Mr. Parker at elementary school for being the worst teacher ever and making Ian hate that subject.

He could feel the other man’s eyes on him. And even if he was on Hulk mode with him, the mechanic always made his knees weak. That messed with his head and of course, his calculation.

“What are you staring your shitty watch for?”

“Mickey, twenty one times five?” Ian remembered the mechanic had mentioned Maths and PE were the only classes he passed at school. So he might help here.

“One hundred and five. Why?”

That motherfucker hadn’t even blinked. He just stared at Ian as if the answer were obvious. “Divided by sixty?”

“One point seventy-five. Jesus Gallagher, what’s with all these numbers?”

Was Mickey a John Forbes Nash’s relative? Granted, the calculations weren’t too difficult but a regular person would have taken at least a couple of seconds. However, the mechanic was blurting the results out the very moment Ian shut his mouth. Besides, he looked at him as if he were stupid. Okay, he couldn’t be so sexy and clever. Ian’s dick grew so much that moment that he almost fainted for the lack of blood in any other parts of his body.

When his cock finally listened to the commands his brains had been sending for ten seconds and he could control his erection, Ian just cleared his voice and opened his mouth.

“That means we’ve got one hour and forty five minutes.” He checked the time again. “Sorry. More like one hour and thirty nine.”

Mickey was confused. He got Ian meant they had that time to get the information and jump before the dream became Battle _Royale_. But still, he didn’t know how Ian reached that conclusion. “How the fuck do you know?”

Ian furrowed his brow. “You know, the oneiric time.”

“The what?”

The redhead lowered his head and shook it while he let a dry laugh slip. Mickey kept looking at him trying to find out what the fuck was going on. It wasn’t surreal enough  that they were in a goddamn dream, the ginger had to say words in fuck know what language. He thought he had let that shit a while ago with Svetlana speaking in Russian.

But Ian raised his head and he wasn’t chuckling anymore. He was shouting.

“What the fuck, Mickey? You don’t listen a fucking word Phil says? We’re risking our lives here.”

The other man just shrugged. He had been probably there when Phil had explained all that shit.  But frankly, his head had been busy trying to come to terms with what he was feeling for Ian. And honestly, Phil was a waste of Mickey’s time. “You know I don’t give a shit about what that asshole says. Besides, what’s the point when I know you pay attention?”

The scriptwriter couldn’t believe he was the same person who gave him a boner just using his brain a minute ago. But that was the marvel of Mickey, he never stopped surprising you. And Ian certainly didn’t want a boring life. Fuck! He was supposed to be mad at him and he even pulled more crap. Mickey had made a fool of him and took the skin off his back. Both literally and metaphorically. How did he do that? How was Mickey able of making him even more smitten when he was being an asshole? Ian Gallagher was so fucked. Still, he could pretend.

He moved again. They couldn’t afford to lose more time. “Oneiric time is what the time in dreams is called. Here time goes faster and one hour in the real world is twenty one in the dreams. That’s why every night we lived a whole week in here.”

Mickey nodded. It all made sense now. He had figured out things worked something like that but he had never bothered to calculate the time. “So what do we do now?”

He was trying to keep Ian’s pace and he had to make a big effort to do it without running. Fucking Gallagher and his Gulliver legs. Ian, however, found that hilarious. He was seeing Mickey’s attempts to be as fast as him and he had to bite a laugh. “We should go to somewhere near here and find someone we’re supposed to know. We ask the questions and once we get the information, we wake up.”

“And why someone we are supposed to know and not some random guy?”

Ian walked slower. Mickey’s breathing was becoming heavier and, as much as he loved torturing him, the black haired man needed to save his strength just in case something went wrong. “Because if we do something strange, something we don’t usually do, Hypnos will realize we’re conscious. And Phil said that people who we had already interacted with send information slower to Hypnos.”

They had already arrived to a busier street and they could see children coming back home after school. According to Ian’s watch, it was almost three in the afternoon. “Which reminds me… we’re a couple here so we must act as it if we don’t want to arouse suspicions.”

“So what? Are we holding hands now, Gallagher?” There wasn’t a threat in his tone. Mickey said by impulse, because it was the words expected to be heard from him. But when Ian took his hand and intertwine their fingers, the mechanic had to take a moment to breathe. He hadn’t made that shit before. The last and only time he held someone’s hand was the same day and with the same person he had kissed before Ian. And surely, that time he didn’t feel fucking butterflies in his stomach. It was weird to make the connection, to be conscious of the parallels between his wedding with Svetlana and the present with Ian.

Ian, however, was sure someone had hit Mickey with a rock in his head and he was dealing with a momentary version of the mechanic. He was as surprised as when he kissed Mickey and he reciprocated. The black haired man was holding his hand firmly and looking forward as if it were normal. Ian, however, couldn’t stop looking in awe at the man he loved. He didn’t dare to move the contact nor speak. It was a silent walk. Nevertheless, they didn’t need words to realize what was going on. Ian didn’t want to break the spell so he just smiled and hope that moment didn’t end.

Only it did.

“We can go to my work and speak to my boss. Whoever is today. He’s ever more asshole in dreams.”

The scriptwriter cleared his throat. He had been holding his breath longer than he expected. “I thought you liked your boss.”

Mickey laughed. While he was walking and holding hands with Ian. Fuck if he hadn’t dreamt awake with that moment for the last couple of weeks. Ian even wondered if they weren’t in fucking Disneyworld, because that street was the happiest place in the world.

“I do. I like assholes.”

Ian smiled because he couldn’t argue with that. Certainly, they were assholes for each other. “Yeah, we can do that. We can go to the garage. We’re in the Chicago side anyway.”

Ian let Mickey guide him. He had no fucking idea where the place the other man worked was. He had just gone a couple of times in the dreams. But the flashes were so fast that he couldn’t remember. It didn’t matter. Mickey was leading and Ian was just behind him happily with a smile on his face and his hand on Mickey’s.

The garage wasn’t far, though. Just a couple of blocks away. The mechanic lingered the contact with Ian as much as he could but he let go of the redhead the moment they stepped in the open area. Ian almost whimpered at the loss of warm and instinctively, he reached his hand to get Mickey’s back. However, he stopped himself half way.

The taller man ran a hand through his hair and tried to get back in his senses. Then, he looked around. The outdoor was full of cars. Some were new, some other old, some other were just a pile of junk. Ian almost couldn’t tell when one vehicle finished and another started. At least, there was an area junk free as a corridor to the main entrance of the building.

He watched Mickey for a moment. He was in his element, moving around the area with comfort only stopping to stare for a second at the grey ford he had been working on. Ian followed him and both stood at the threshold of the building.

“So who do you think is your boss?” Mickey reached for Ian’s arm and twisted it enough to see the time on the redhead’s wrist. He might have pretended he was looking at the watch longer than he really did after checking it was almost five past three. He stared for some seconds at three freckles on Ian’s limb which formed a perfect triangle. He had to fight the impulse to feel them. God, that ginger was going to be the death of him. How could he be so fucking hopeless when he was around? It scared the shit out of Mickey.

He dropped the arm and chewed his lip while scanning his workplace. He can see two pair of legs standing out two cars. But he didn’t lose time on that. He knew exactly where they would find his boss.

He made a sign to Ian and the younger man followed him. He opened the door of the only office in the building and there they found the owner of the garage. His fat ass comfortably sat on the chair in front of the desk and reading the newspaper. Only, he was a woman and wasn’t fat at all.

“Jesus Mickey! Where have you been? You disappeared and didn’t say shit.” Joe, the owner, turned the chair to see his employer better and the chair made a cranky noise. That chair was agonizing. Too many years supporting a fat ass. Somebody has to put it out of its misery. “And who is this?”

Mickey followed the finger pointing at Ian. Of course, the couple of times he had been there, Ian had been waiting for him outside, so they had no idea who that tall version of a Weasley was. “Fuck! Sorry Joe. He’s Ian… my… mmm” he looked at the man standing next to him and Ian only shrugged. That fucker didn’t react when he needed his help. “My boyfriend?” He finally said.

The two boys froze. They knew that in that universe, that was the right answer but it didn’t mean it was big and weird what Mickey had just said. Ian could hear the beating of his heart going faster in his ear. And for a couple of seconds he could have sworn something inside him explode.

“You don’t see so sure about it.” Joe eyed Ian for a moment and scratched his dark forehead.

“I’m sure. We’re together. But forget about that. We need to talk with you about something.”

The garage owner lifted his black eyebrows and smiled showing the shining white teeth which contrasted with his skin. God, it was so weird to see his boss as a woman. And attractive. “Oh, are you going to get married and you want my blessing? I feel so moved, Mickey.”

“Cut the crap. Nobody is getting hitched. Well, maybe someday you’ll marry a BBQ sauce bottle. The love you have for that shit is the most passionate I’ve seen in my entire life.”

“I’m glad you find so comfortable with my sexuality, kid.”

Ian was watching the conversation as if they had got sucked into another parallel world. How fucking weird was that? They had limited time and Mickey was making jokes and laughing his ass off with his boss. What the fuck Mickey? Also, if he had talked to his own boss like that, he would have been fired faster than The Flash reaching the top of a fucking two floor building.

So he placed his right hand on his lover’s shoulder and waited to catch his attention. “Mick, it’s almost quarter past three.”

“Oh, right. So we want to talk about Hypnos.” Her reaction at his employee’s words was immediate. He rose from his chair, making a louder and more agonizing noise than before, and stared at the two boys under the threshold while his pony tail moved.

Mickey didn’t like beating around the bush. If he wanted something, he just went straight to the point. Nothing had stopped him before and like fuck his boss was. Besides, it was a dream. It wasn’t like his would lose his job in real life.

“Nobody asks about Hypnos. It’s too risky.” Joe was looking right at Mickey’s eyes. He wasn’t sure if he was trying to intimidate him or just trying to read him.

“Well congrat-fucking-lations. You are in front of two who don’t give a shit. Now, where are the headquarters?”

“You’re in the right city. But you shouldn’t look under Hypnos name, but _Ortul Pharmaceutics_.”

Both men were surprised Mickey’s employer let the information out so easily. And like hell they weren’t going to take advantage of it.

“Who will be the next couple activated?”

“There won’t be a next couple.”

Both men froze. What did that mean? For the first time, Ian decided to open his mouth and direct his words to the garage owner. “But we were told there were more couples in the Hypnos project.”

“They are more couples. But since you had a lucid dream and you escaped, Hypnos decided to work with they already know.”

Ian didn’t know how to feel about that. He should be relieved no one else was going to be used by Hypnos. But there was something in the way he said it that made him feel uneasy.

“What are they going to do with them? Just let them be?”

Joe tilted his head to examine that ginger curious man for a bit. His hair locks fell through his shoulder like a cascade and his feline eyes closed for a bit.

“Oh no. The unused subjects will be eliminated.”

Mickey let a _fuck_ out in horror. It was Ian who was speechless. Should he feel guilt? Because he was feeling the mother of all guilt in his chest. People were going to die for their fault. And they were there, motionless. Just staring and blinking at the messenger.

Mickey was the first to snap out of it. He just took a few steps and grab Joe by his shirt. “What the fuck do they want from us?” He was yelling. And he didn’t care his co-workers stopped what they doing just to look how Mickey was assaulting their boss. He was about to break his number rule: never hit a woman. But technically, it was Joe who he was going to punch senseless.

“Mickey, you don’t have time for this. I have just informed Hypnos you’re lucid. They’re coming.”

It wasn’t until he felt the heat of Ian’s hand on his back that the mechanic acted. He turned his head and looked at those green eyes. “Mick, come on, we have to go.”

There was rush in his words. But his voice was soft and it made enough effect on the older man. So before he could even realize, they were running.

“Fuck! We need to find a place to jump from.”

That was one of those situations where you slap yourself mentally because you shouldn’t be risking your life like that without a plan. Mickey wondered is Ian knew what happened if they died in the dream. That was something he would have listened to if fucking Phil had mentioned it.

“The L station. We can jump from there and it’s not far from here.” They had to push people to go through the streets. It seems everybody had decided to get out from their homes. It was more like Hypnos were sending and preparing them to attack in a few minutes.

“It will be full of people. There’s no way will make it.”

“We will if we’re fast enough. Besides, it’s our only chance.”

They didn’t need to exchange more words. They were in front of the station and near their escape. Both men climbed the stairs and jumped over the faregate.

As imagined, a group of armed people was waiting for them. They turned and looked at them dead in the eye. Mickey stopped in his track and Ian crashed on him making the mechanic almost lose his balance. It wasn’t the kind of fall he needed precisely.

“We aren’t afraid of you!” Ian’s jaw clenched after his statement. Mickey could tell he was ready to fight. 

They were too close. They couldn’t jump without being stopped and everybody in there knew it. They kept staring at each other waiting for someone to make the first move.

It was Ian who made it but not the expected. He saw the opportunity when a middle age man climbed the stairs and arrived at the platform. The scriptwriter punched him in the face and took the knife the man was holding. He placed it in his throat even before the blood started running from his nostrils.

“Aren’t you?” A sweet voice came among the crowd. A couple of seconds later, the same little girl from the previous dream placed herself in front of the boys. Ian closed the distance between the man and the knife making the man whine.

“Great. Fucking Samara again. Don’t you have kids to scare or a TV to come out from?”

The little girl seemed to ignore Mickey’s words and fixed her eyes on the redhead. “Don’t think we can’t hurt you, Ian Gallagher. We know all about you. We are aware of your darkest secrets. What do you think your little boyfriend here would think about that time you became a prostitute?”

Ian was shaking in horror and anger. He couldn’t believe that was happening. He wanted to look at Mickey and see his face. But he was afraid. However, he heard his words and he was surprised by them.

“Shut the fuck up, little Satan!” He still couldn’t look at the black haired man. But at least he could control his shaking.

The little girl sweetened her face and turned her gaze to Mickey. She looked like a little angel. What a fucking irony.

“Oh, don’t think we forgot about you, Mr. Milkovich. Does he know how your daddy caught you getting fucked in your living room? How he beat you up and called Svetlana to rape you and get her pregnant?”

This time Ian did look at Mickey. He looked like he was about to puke. The scriptwriter had never seen the other man so pale and small. That made his blood boil. “I bet you didn’t.”

The little girl giggled and that was it. Ian didn’t even think about it. He just reached for the man he loved’s hand and held it. “And I bet you didn’t expect this.” Ian could fill the blade running and slitting the middle age man’s throat. There was something poetic in how he felt his freedom in the death of someone else. It wasn’t a real death, though. It was a dream. But he didn’t stay to analyse that. He had created a distraction and he was going to use it.

He let the empty body go and he pushed himself and Mickey over the rail.

Everything went black before he could hear the thud.

_________________________

It was like someone had been choking them for a while. They gasped for air and convulsed on the table throwing some electrodes.

Mandy was there to comfort them. They heard her voice before they could see her. Mickey and Ian were held by some strong arms until they controlled themselves.

“Phil! They aren’t going to activate any other couples. They’re going to kill them!” It was the first time Ian said once he focused. He needed everyone to know it so they could act as soon as possible.

Phil looked at him and shook his head. “I’m afraid that had to wait. We have a bigger problem.”

He and Mandy stepped aside and the two men could see Lip and Svetlana standing there. Their faces were horrified. They couldn’t believe his little brother and her husband were wrecked and more scared than ever on that table. What have they done to them?

“How… What are you doing here?”

Lip and Svetlana placed themselves in front of their relatives and held them an envelope each. “We received a return airplane tickets each to New York and this.” Lip said.

Ian and Mickey didn’t wait to open the envelops. There some coordinates they supposed it was how they got there. Ian was the first to turn the paper and read out loud.

“We know where.”

Mickey was next. “You are. Hypnos.”

They looked and each other and put the two papers next to each other. The message was loud and clear. They were fucked.

**WE KNOW WHERE YOU ARE.** **HYPNOS.**


	12. Time Is the Only Polygraph

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Beta'd by the amazing baclblood.
> 
> Enjoy the chapter and thanks for reading!!!

“He has a wife?” Scott felt the bile going up through his stomach and the blood boiling in his veins. Did Ian really leave him for a closeted guy? He didn’t understand what the redhead, _his_ redhead saw in that dirty and shorter version of Danny Zuko. Granted, the guy was somewhat hot. But he had that permanent scowl on his face that he didn’t know if he should fear him or give him an _Activia_. Who the hell did that Mickey think he was? Stealing his boyfriend and trying to beat him up as if he were the master of the universe. The blonde’s brain had a short-circuit every time he imagined Ian with that stupid.

Everyone around him was freaking out. He could see Mandy and the Indian guy collecting as much as they can while the rest were loading a black van as quickly as they could.

“I don’t care in what middle of a personal crisis you are, Scott. Just move your dumped ass!”

Phil had a license plate on his left hand and he kept poking him with one of the fingers of his free hand while Scott totally felt the older man’s breath on his face. Wow! Didn’t this guy use toothpaste? But he was smart enough to not blurt it out. Normally, he said what he thought – except when he was deliberately lying or manipulating someone, of course. – but Phil seemed pissed.  Until that moment, the former Hypnos worker had treated him coldly and indifferently, not angrily and definitely he had not yelled at him before. So Scott sighed and went into the van. He placed his ass on the best seat he saw and waited for the rest to finish what they were doing. Like hell he was going to move a finger to help those morons.

He was the victim here. He had been taken against his will and locked up in a dark room for a day. If he had to move a finger, it would be for his only motivation then: getting Ian back. Unluckily, his ex-boyfriend was getting all his stuff with Lip and that idiot with a lazy eye had never liked him, so he knew better than helping them. Anyway, whatever he did, everybody kept calling him _asshole_ and he didn’t know why. He truly believed he was a nice guy, he just stepped out of the way and didn’t disturb.

Twenty seconds later, Mickey got into the vehicle so violently that Scott covered his face to protect it from a punch. But it never came. He heard a snort coming from the black-haired man and the rest of the people sat around him. Except from Phil and the Arab woman – whatever her name was, he didn’t care. – who were on the front of the van.

Phil started the vehicle and he had to take a grip because apparently, you can be a scientific and still suck at driving. Who the hell gave his driving license to that jackass? He didn´t know why they were leaving all of the sudden. He had gone to the kitchen to drink water while Ian and Mickey took that nap. Next thing he knew, stupid Lip and the cuckolded wife had appeared out of the blue and everybody was freaking out. And he might have been Jack the Ripper in other life because he was sat between the two newcomers and he was the centre of a human sandwich. He held Svetlana’s leg when a burst of speed made him almost fall. The Russian woman didn’t like any other than her husband touched her because she elbowed him on his groin and he definitely saw the stars. That bitch. If only she knew she wasn’t the only one who touched her husband’s dick.

He could see Ian and Mickey in front of him. He stared at them for a second feeling his skin turning green of jealousy when they locked their eyes. It was for just a second, but he caught the moment Ian placed a hand on the thug’s and they both nodded to the oldest guy in the van.

He hadn’t finished clearing uncomfortably his throat to let them know he was upset when his ears received a light noise. And then it happened. He jumped on his seat and let a childish scream out when he saw Ian and Mickey on the floor with their faces full of pain. What was going on? He flinched when he started to hear their yelling. But what really astonished him was that everybody stayed on their seats as if that were normal. If nobody was acting like fuck he was going to be the first to do something. Maybe it was something contagious.

He had been warned. Since Ian read the papers out loud, Aisha had approached to Svetlana and explained the situation. _“I get you have a lot of questions and you don’t understand who we are and what’s going on. But we need to get as many things as we could and leave in that van. Also, Mickey and Ian will be in a lot of pain but you must know it’s all for their safety. So please don’t freak out too much.”_ But Lip couldn’t stand seeing his little brother twisting and convulsing while trying to reach Mickey’s arm. So he looked away.

At first he found Scott’s face. No, wrong idea. He should have turned right instead left. And by the way, what the fuck was he doing there? Last time he heard, Ian had kicked him out from his apartment. Flying like a Frisbee through the door. The lawyer then met Svetlana’s face. He could tell she had been staring at him since the screams began. She was trying to smile at him to make him feel better, or maybe she was trying to make herself believe that everything was okay. But she had permanent flinch on her and it didn’t help. Anyway, Lip appreciated the effort.

It was all easier when he looked at Mandy. It was a face he knew. In all that madness he had got into in the last ten minutes, he was thankful to be with someone who wasn’t a stranger, an asshole or was scratching the floor of the vehicle. She had witnessed that shit before. He could see it in the way she couldn’t stop fidgeting her feet and she hummed a song to herself. He had been eyeing her for some seconds when he registered determination on her face. She kneeled on the floor and dragged a screaming Mickey to her lap and held him tight. Mandy kept humming the same song she had before while stroke his black hair. It was an intimate moment. He had never seen any Milkovich so vulnerable and wrecked. Lip thought it didn’t make the pain go away but there was something in Mandy’s actions that caught his attention. Mandy was protecting her brother in a way nobody else could do, just like the Gallaghers did. So he got down on his knees and reached a twisting Ian.

_________________________

Ian had been more scared in his life than at that moment. A good example was when he first realized he might have bipolar disease as his family had been telling him. It wasn’t fear what he was feeling, it was the opposite. It was relief. It didn’t matter he had been experiencing one of the most horrible pains in his life. Or that the intensity had been definitely higher than the first time they had been in the van. All that disappeared the moment he fainted out of pain. When he woke up, the noise and the headache were still there but they were bearable. He stretched himself and gulped. Or tried to. His mouth was drier than the fucking Sahara. He didn’t feel like it, but he had to leave the bed to get some water.

The scriptwriter rolled on the bed to reach the nearest side to the door but he collided with an unexpected body. He blinked twice before realizing it was Mickey. His brain was still asleep and it took a bit longer for him than usual to react. By the small noises the older man made, he was waking up.

Mickey eyed Ian and rubbed eyes before sighing. They both stayed a couple of minutes lying on that new bed without talking. They hadn’t even wondered where they were or how long they had been in that room. The two men didn’t know what day it was. The truth was their minds were busy trying to figure out how they were supposed to do after the revelations in the dream.

Mickey wanted to know. Ian needed to know. That was the difference between the two men. And in a moment of despair, Ian was the one to break the ice.

“Mick, I think we should talk abo-“ he was interrupted by the sudden movement Mickey did.  He sat almost violently on the bed only to turn his head and look dead at the redhead’s eyes. “No.”

Ian tried to gulp. He had forgotten he actually needed water but he couldn’t leave that bed. He ran his hand through his hair and waited a couple of seconds before asking a question he already knew the answer. “No what.”

“We shouldn’t talk about that.” The springs from the mattress cringed when the mechanic left the bed. Ian stayed still for a moment until an invisible force took him after Mickey. He grabbed his shoulders before he could reach the door and spun him.

“You always have to say the last word, don’t you? Not today. Not now. It wasn’t just your secret which was revealed. Mine too. And I don’t know what scares me more, the fact that you know I had sex for money or what happened to you. So we need to talk about this or else we’ll be fucked.”

Mickey breathed heavily during the time Ian spoke. When he finished, his breath continued to be loud but the younger man could see when his words sank on the thug. It was his lip biting what gave him away. Finally, Mickey sighed and gulped. His mouth must have been dry because he flinched at the same time he sat on the bed.

The mechanic didn’t wait for long. He wiped his face with his hand and patted the place next to him so Ian could sit himself there. “Fine. But you first Gallagher.”

Ian sometimes wondered why he kept getting in these situations. Why he wasn’t one of those people that didn’t give a shit about anything. Because he was in an unknown bedroom, next to the man he loved rubbing his hands frantically and fuck if he knew where to begin.

The scriptwriter cleared his throat and raised his head to meet Mickey’s blue eyes. “You know I told you I have bipolar disease, right?” He waited until he got a nod from Mickey.

“I remember you telling me that but don’t know what that shit is, man.”

Ian expected that. When he first was diagnosed he knew what the doctors were talking about because his mother had the same disease. He had witnessed what it was in his own house. But he understood that the rest weren’t familiarized with the term. “It’s manic depression. I suck at explaining this, so I’m going to repeat the words Fiona once used. It’s high highs and low lows over and over. And in between the two it isn’t even normal, I have symptoms of both mania and depression.”

“Okay. But now you’re good?” Mickey was trying to keep his face straight but Ian could see the hint of worry in the way his eyebrows furrowed lightly.

“Yeah. My meds keep me balanced. But it wasn’t always like that.” Ian changed his position in the same spot as he used it to gain some time. He needed a couple of seconds before telling what he was about to confess. And a valid excuse to not look at Mickey. “In one of my manic episodes, when my family suggested I was sick and I should go to the hospital, I kidnapped my brother Liam and drove to Florida. Well, not exactly, that was the destination but we never got there.” He could feel the gaze of the other man on him but he didn’t get the strength to move his head. Ian breathed heavily twice before continuing. “Liam was a little kid then and he needed baby food. That shit is expensive. So after refueling my car a couple of times I ran out of money. I didn’t know what to do so I thought the quickest way to get money was through sex. And it worked for a couple of times before my family found us and took me straight to the mental institution.”

Only once he had finished he met Mickey’s eyes. He wanted to read him but there was nothing on his face which could let him know what was going through his mind. “It wa- It was a fucked up thing to do and there isn’t day I don’t regret what I did. But I didn’t understand I was doing wrong until I got help.”

Silence again. Ian was desperate. He just wanted to grab the other man and shake him until he blurted out what he was thinking.

“My dad caught me having sex in the living room.” Ian slacked his jaw when the black haired man started to talk. He didn’t expect to hear speak about him so soon. The scriptwriter didn’t know how to take the fact that the other man hadn’t commented anything about what he had just confessed. But he decided to listen to him first. 

“You know Terry is an homophobic son of a bitch. I think he had suspected it for a while and that was the cause for the constant beatings. But time is the only polygraph and he had his confirmation. His son not only is gay but he takes it up in the ass. So he pistol whipped me. When I woke up Svetlana, who at that time was a prostitute, was straddling me and fucked me at gunpoint.” Mickey was fighting. His chin was trembling and his eyes were glassy. But he had always been good at not letting people know his feelings, so he sighed and continued. “Once he was satisfied, he beat the shit out of me and left me unconscious. I bet the bastard had thought I was dead.” A small smile appeared at the corner of his lips. Mickey saw his survival as a victory. “It was Mandy who found me and took me to the hospital. I owe her my life, you know?”

Ian nodded. Mandy’s words echoing in his head “ _Mickey isn’t trying to be something he isn’t, he’s trying to survive._ ” Mickey stared at his hands for a moment. They were on his thighs, almost touching Ian. “When I came back home. Terry told me Svetlana was pregnant and I had to marry her. I had no other choice. If I wanted to keep living, I had to play the heterosexual game. So I did it. At first my wife and I hated each other. We blamed the other for what had happened and that shit was destroying us. Until we realized who the real enemy was. One day we sat and talked and we understood it was better for us to be a team. And that’s pretty much what happened.”

Ian had to process too much information in so short time. Still, there was a piece missing in that puzzle. He hesitated before asking because maybe it was too much for Mickey. But fuck it, he was tired of guessing. “What happened with the baby?”

Mickey furrowed his brow. He was confused by Ian’s question. “What baby?”

“You said Svetlana got pregnant.”

“Oh” Mickey seemed much more relaxed than a few seconds ago. He scratched his forefront and look at Ian again. “Neither of us wanted him. Or her. Or whatever the fuck it was going to be. Besides, she couldn’t even tell if I was the father, so what was the point? That kid… if it had been, you know, consensual sex… we might have had them. But not like this. So we went to the clinic and she got an abortion. Then we faked a fall from the stairs for Terry, Scarlett O’hara style.” Mickey let out a dry laugher. ”That fucker always passed out after the first hour of the film.”

Ian was taken aback for all what Mickey had been through. He knew Terry Milkovich was a homophobic but he would have never guessed he could do that to one of his children. Mickey was raped by proxy by his father and forced to marry the woman he used to rape him. The redhead felt the urge to hold Mickey and never let him go. To protect him from all the evil in his life.

“Look Gallagher, what happened to us is fucked up. We all have our shit at home. Then we choose our mask before going out so we can hide it.”

The scriptwriter was surprised by Mickey’s words. Mickey didn’t ask to get raped and marry a woman. However, it had been his idea to have sex with men. So why was Mickey putting them both in the same bag?

“So we’re good?”

Mickey smiled shyly. He raised his hand and placed it on Ian’s cheek. The redhead’s eyes snapped. Anybody else would have freaked out after what he had just confessed. But not Mickey. He didn’t judge him like the others, the mechanic tried to understand him. And fuck if that didn’t make Ian fall in love even more for him. He returned the smile and leaned to touch the other man’s lip.

The kiss wasn’t rough and desperate as the others they had shared. This one was sweet and slow but it still made them breathless, moaning in each other’s mouths when they brought their bodies even closer. Because when a love like that was involved, passion was the least requisite.

It didn’t last long. They knew there was a crisis at the other side of that door and they had to face it. When they parted they leaned their heads so their foreheads were touching. They ran their hands through each other’s hair while they tried to get their grins under control. Ian didn’t give a shit if the world found out. He has just kissed Mickey Milkovich and it was what he wanted to do for the rest of his life.

“I fucking need a glass of water, man.”

And Ian followed Mickey. He was pretty sure he would follow him even to Silent Hill without batting an eye.

_________________________

Mickey’s face hurt. He hadn’t smiled for so long in his life. Fucking Ian and his stupid lips. He had no clue why he suddenly needed to kiss them so desperately when he didn’t even like kissing before meeting Gallagher. The guilty part for all that torrent of feelings was walking by his side. The tips of their fingers brushed lightly with each step and Mickey had to bite his lips more than once because neither of them did something to stop it. The mechanic thought that maybe his knuckles said _fuck u-up_ but he was certain it was Ian who had fucked him up for life.

He burst his little bubble when they met his wife, Lip and Phil. Then he looked around. He hadn’t even notice where they were until that moment. It was a big empty apartment. It must be in the middle of a renovation because all he could see was tools everywhere and a big wooden work table in the centre of what must have been a huge living room.

“They explained us what happens. You okay?” After all they had been through the last couple of days, Mickey appreciated to hear Svetlana’s strong Russian accent. He went to her and hugged her tight. Her hair smelt that hint of strawberries Mickey secretly loved. It has all been so surreal and crazy he had thought he wouldn’t see her again.

The mechanic could hear Ian talking to Lip. They were also hugging and Lip was freaking out and asking Ian how the fuck he always managed to get himself in such deep shit. “It’s a Gallagher thing,” that’s all the redhead answer. Mickey couldn’t see him but he could imagine the redhead shrugging with that goofy smile.

Mandy joined them. She was so happy to see them there that she kept going from Ian and Mickey back and forth. The moment the mechanic could breathe and untangled him from his wife’s wrap we turned his head and he caught the moment Mandy and Ian were separating from a hug Lip was there, waiting expectantly. But she ignored him. Mickey snorted. No shit she did that. He had seen Mandy cried over him some years ago. Mickey Milkovich still wanted to pull that asshole’s teeth out.

“We need to talk about the dream Phil. Nobody else is going to be activated and Hypnos is going to kill them all.”

Mickey had forgotten Phil was there. But he wasn’t surprised. That motherfucker seemed to be god, he was every-fucking-where. Even in the intimate moments they just had. But of course, Ian was right. They needed to talk about that.

“Okay. What do you suggest?” Phil was tired. There were bags under his eyes and the mechanic felt he wasn’t about to put up with much shit. But fuck him. Despite his remorse, he had helped to create Hypnos. Now he had to deal with the consequences.

“We should save them.”

Everyone had gathered around the wooden table. There was nothing but silence except when Phil and Ian talked. No one seemed to be eager to interrupt or give their opinion. They just watched how Ian tried to save the world while Phil wasn’t looking forward to it.

“You know Ian, if Hypnos’ intention is to kill them all, there’s nothing we can do. They’ll do it in a couple of days. The subjects are all over the country. We have their names and addresses but there’s no way we can be in all those places in such a short time.”

“We don’t need to do that. We have information about the headquarters. We go there and we bring them down.”

Mickey had decided it was time to step in the conversation. Phil was giving shit to Ian and the scriptwriter was running out of patience. However, Phil looked at Mickey as if he had just noticed him. His lips twitched in a smug smile and the mechanic had to fight the urge to wipe it with a punch.

“Yesterday you didn’t want to get in the dream and now you want to venture into the lion’s den and immolate yourself?”

The black-haired felt a hold on his wrist under the table. Mandy knew him too well. He was about to lose his shit and she grab him to make sure he calmed himself. So he simply shrugged. “I guess my ass is getting tired of running. I want to go there and kill those sons of bitches.”

Phil smiled even harder. “That’s what I’ve been waiting to hear you say since I met you.”

Mickey could at least recognize the other man had some taste.

________________________

Svetlana only wanted to sleep. The rest of the group were planning an attack and she hadn’t slept since she caught the plane to New York. She was finally assigned a room and the mattress on the floor suddenly seemed a viscoelastic dream.

She was about to let herself fall on the mattress when the door flew open unexpected. Mickey better had an emergency or else she was going to strangle him. Her sleep was way more important than her husband’s life.

But it wasn’t Mickey. It was that sandy boy. She hadn’t even exchanged a word with him and she already despised him. She didn’t know why, it was something permanent in his face that screamed _asshole_.

“What the fuck you want?”

The man flinched and covered his groin in a reminder of their first encounter in the van. Then he recovered himself and held stretched his hand.

“Svetlana, right? I’m Scott.”

She eyed him up and down with a grimace. If he was expecting her to shake hands with him he could go fuck off. Scott got the hint and ran the hand through his hair while he muttered _okay_. 

“You introduced yourself. Now you can leave.” When he didn’t move, she raised her eyebrows. Svetlana couldn’t believe she had to put up with that shit at that very moment.

“In fact, I came here with a proposal.”

That made her laugh. That boy really thought she had something to offer him. She could tell she intimidated the blond. He was pacing and rubbing his hands together. “Really?”

Scott finally sighed and prepared himself to spit out what he had to say.

“I’m Ian’s boyfri- Ian’s ex-boyfriend.” He had to stop himself for a moment to assimilate what he had just said. She bet it was the first time he used that term to refer to orange boy. “Since all this started, your husband and Ian had become very… close.”

The woman sighed. “No shit. Tell me something I didn’t know already.” Svetlana crossed her arms under her breast and waiting for him to continue. The sooner he finished talking the sooner she’d go to sleep.

“I’m sorry to tell you this but their relationship in the dream has become real. You’re losing your husband over Ian.” He cleared his throat for a moment and his voice changed. Now it was more confident and arrogant. “I want Ian back. He belongs to me and Mickey needs to stay with you. If we team up, they’ll go back to us.”

Svetlana smiled. Scott felt the victory and smiled with her. She took one step towards him until their faces were barely a couple of centimeters away. But something had changed. She wasn’t smiling anymore. Instead, she was gritting her teeth and she had a murderous look.

“If you ever go near Mickey or Ian. If you ever get in the way of my husband’s happiness, I’ll stab you with a screwdriver and watch you bleed.”

Scott was in shock. He had never expected that reaction from her. But Svetlana had always been full of surprises for everyone. Maybe she hadn’t been clear enough. She knew these kind of guys. They didn’t give up easily.

“In fact, I’m going to give you a preview. Just in case.”

She rose her knee and aimed to his groin. She was developing a fondness in assaulting that guy’s genitals. The moment she felt Scott was falling on the floor with pain, she opened the door kicked him out.

She finally lied on the mattress and fell asleep quickly. To be honest, she had earned it.

_________________________

“We’ll attack in two days. They’re expecting us right now. And the element of surprise is crucial to succeed.”

Phil was right. Ian had to recognize that. After two hours planning, he was exhausted. They all agreed and decided to continue next day.

He approached Lip. He barely had spoken with him since they met and he wanted to talk to him. The older Gallagher was lighting a cigarette when Ian placed himself next to him.

“I need to know where the fuck we are.”

Lip smiled and scratched his forehead while he sucked his smoke. “I’m not sure in which part of New York we are, lil bro. It’s my first time in this city. But I heard this is the apartment of a friend of Phil who is out of town.”

Ian took his brother’s cigarette and smoke. He was nodding. Now he understood the situation. Lip wasn’t looking at him. He followed his gaze and found out his older brother was looking at Mandy. She was talking to Dev and laughing at something funny he must have said.

“Is Mandy with that guy?”

Ian rose his eyebrows. Suddenly it was six years ago. “Jesus Lip, can you stop thinking with your dick?”

“Well, are they together or no?”

There was an impatient hint in his voice. Maybe he just wanted to know. Perhaps it was just curiosity. Ian hoped so. “No. I don’t know. They have just met. That’s all I know.”

They were interrupted by Mickey’s arrival. They stopped talking about Mandy. Speaking about the thug’s sister in front of the thug himself wasn’t the ideal scenario.

“Hey!” Mickey’s voice was soft when he greeted Ian. And the redhead answered the same way. However, the mechanic’s tone shifted when he greeted Lip. “Asshole.”

Lip took his cigarette again and gave a final drag. “Right. It’s nightfall already and some of us haven’t slept yet since this morning.”

“Don’t think we don’t need some more sleep. We had to kick some asses in the dream.” Ian said.

The lawyer snorted. “Just don’t be loud when you have gay sex. I don’t need to hear that shit.”

Both men flipped the bird at Lip. But that was it. They were too exhausted to continue that conversation. So they smiled at each other and headed to the room. Their room. If they were doomed to die in two days, you could bet your ass they would enjoy every second.


	13. Song of War

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Beta'd by the wonderful baclblood.
> 
> Enjoy the chapter and thanks for reading!

For a split second, Mickey thought he was in another dream. There was a hand on his waist and a naked body against his bed. Just like he used to sleep in the other world. But that was real life and, to be honest, Mickey was happy it was. He didn’t even try to hide the smile in his face as he usually did when a too gay thought made feel bliss. Living with Terry Milkovich for so long really fucked up his head.

The mechanic blinked twice to make the sleep go away and turned his body so he was facing Ian. The redhead was still sleeping and no signs to wake up anytime soon. Fuck! he was so beautiful Mickey had to clench his hand to keep it from touching that gorgeous face. So he kept staring. He had never had the chance to be so focus on him. He could count every freckle in his face, even they ones which were fading. Mickey even wondered what Ian had looked like as a kid, his face full of freckles and with that stupid goofy smile. Mickey was sure he had seen him when they were little kids, they grew up in the same neighbourhood after all. Besides, Ian had mentioned the little league in which the mechanic had played.

“I know you won’t admit you’re watching me sleep. And it’s so adorable.”

Mickey panicked for a moment until he remembered it was Ian and he didn’t have to pretend anymore. However, that didn’t mean he had to be all fairy and admit to Ian’s face what was on his mind.

“So what if I was?”                      

The mechanic hardened his look because it had been soft for too long and, to be fair, he wasn’t used to being in fucking cloud nine. Those bitches had been raining on him all the fucking time. They were staring at each other as if there weren’t any other people in the world.

Ian just shrugged. “You would earn a blowjob.” Mickey would normally like to wipe anyone’s smug smile with a punch in their face. But not when it was Ian’s. And definitely not when it was the result of a hummer offer.

“You didn’t have enough of my dick list night, huh Gallagher?”

Mickey waggled his eyebrows. It was already too late to pretend he wasn’t interested in what it was about to happen.

“I would say it’s the other way round since my cock was up in your ass three times.”

Damn it! Mickey was so thirsty for that ginger cock that it was fucking ridiculous. At least he had hoped the other man hadn’t notice, but not such luck.

“Well, shut the fuck up and make it four.”

Ian didn’t need to be told twice. He had been craving Mickey’s mouth – and ass – since he had felt the older man’s breath on his face. Whoever said morning breaths were disgusting, Ian’s dick disagreed with them at that very moment.

There was something in Mickey’s lips that was addictive. Ian had always liked kissing but he had never felt that electricity that ran through his entire body and tingled his mouth every time their lips brushed. That, they, were meant to be. And there was so much evidence about it that blew Ian’s mind.

The scriptwriter could happily spend hours kissing Mickey, but it wasn’t his plan. Their mouths lost contact and Ian’s lips found the other man’s throat. He felt Mickey’s hands everywhere: his back, his hair, his ass… The redhead was clenching with one hand Mickey’s hair and tilting his head so he could have more access to his neck. Meanwhile, he ran his free hand through the oldest man’s body, feeling his abs and hips until he met his dick.

Ian felt the vibration of a deep groan Mickey let out the moment he felt friction on his groin. And that made Ian go fucking wild. His thumb touched the slit at the top of Mickey’s penis at the same time the redhead kept kissing and licking his lover’s throat. He started to stroke the shaft slowly.

In the dreams, Ian had always been fascinated by how Mickey’s body reacted to all of his touches. Such as his intermittent breaths every time he focused his work on the tip of his dick or the way his mouth opened with his eyes shut when his tongue played with his earlobe. He could tell Mickey was getting impatient by the change in the tone of the moans the mechanic released. So for the first time since they started kissing, Ian’s lips lost the contact of Mickey’s skin.

He was setting himself between Mickey leg to fulfill the promised reward when the mechanic’s calloused hands grabbed his shoulders and pulled him into another kiss. It was even more passionate than the first one. Their bodies wanted, needed to be even closer every second and the friction of their cocks were driving them insane and moaning into each other’s mouths like crazy.

In an unexpected moment, Mickey flipped them and detached himself from Ian’s mouth just to look him at his eyes for a moment. They were both panting, flushed and the lust had become fire in their eyes. So the mechanic pivoted on his lover’s body until he met his groin and swallowed him whole.

Ian’s brain shut down for a moment and forgot they weren’t alone when he produced a loud groan. Granted, he hadn’t expected what Mickey had just done and any remembrance of pleasure he had was nothing compared to what he felt. He arched his back a couple of times and took one of his hands to stifle the ridiculous noises he was making.

But he opened his eyes and decided there was a better way he could suppress his moans. He covered Mickey’s dick with his hand and returned the favor. The vibration around Ian’s cock almost makes the redhead come at the spot. But they had just started, so he placed his left hand on Mickey’s shaft and he jerked him off while his tongue licked the tip.

Mickey was a mess, a beautiful mess. He couldn’t control himself and sucked as he had never done before in his life. Actually, he rarely gave head. It wasn’t something he had been into. Until Ian. He worshiped that dick, and he literally drooled every time he though on it in his butt or his mouth. So he deep throated. “Oh fuck Mickey!”

It had been too much for Ian and Mickey knew it. He had done that hundreds of times in the dreams. He knew where to touch, lick and suck in every moment to drive the younger man crazy. And the mechanic smirked around the cock because like fuck he was going to stop bobbing. The mechanic was so focused on giving the other man as much pleasure as he could that the finger entering his hole made him tremble and all he could do was moaning with Ian’s shaft in his mouth. The second digit was kind of foreseeable. What he hadn’t expected was Ian pulling away to massage his ass. Before Mickey could even whimper, he felt a long strip and the tongue licking his entrance and sending spams all over his body. Ian’s face was buried into Mickey’s ass while his hand jerked the oldest man off.

Mickey needed to give Ian something more. Because there was no fucking way the redhead was feeling as much pleasure as Mickey felt. So with one hand, he cupped his balls and massages them; and with the other, he caressed Ian’s thigh to let him know he should fuck his mouth harder and faster. And Ian took the hint.

There was nothing that could stop them from getting their orgasms. They had both lost control and they were in trance. They were about to come, feeling the release at the pit of their stomachs, and ready to turn into a mess of come and sweat.

“Morning losers you ha-“ Every burst that was about to happen was cancelled when they two men heard Mandy’s voice. “My eyes! My fucking eyes! Where is the bleach?” She shouted while she rubbed her eyes trying to get rid of the image.

Mickey was the first to snap out of it and sat down next to a still stretched Ian and tried to cover them with the sheet. “What the fuck, Mandy?”

“Oh my fucking god! I have just seen my brother’s ass being eaten and with a dick in his mouth. Did you have to do that shit in front of me?”

The two siblings kept shouting at each other and, by that time, it was impossible somebody didn’t know what the two men were doing before being interrupted. Ian had recovered himself but yet he thought the smart thing to do was keeping his mouth shut.

“The door was fucking close! Knock before getting in as normal people do, bitch!”

“I wouldn’t have to if you weren’t acting like two horny dogs going at it while shit is going on outside this room.”

The mechanic sighed heavily and glanced at Ian who was watching the Milkovich family scene of the day with a pretty funny face. Still, he betted the scriptwriter’s balls hurt as much as his.

“What shit?” Mickey finally asked.

“Phil wants to see you two.”

The black haired man let a groan out. He was having the best start of a day ever and suddenly everything became shittier and shittier.

“About what?”

Mandy shrugged. “Fuck if I know. I was on my way to the bathroom when I saw Dev standing in front of this door and told me to go in because he didn’t want to wake –“ The woman stopped talking and opened her eyes wide in realization. “Fucking bastard!”

Her initial shock changed into freaking rage when she opened violently the door and it revealed Dev laughing so hard that he was having difficulties to breathe.

“I swear to god I’ll end you!”

Mickey didn’t have to see his sister to know she was about to kill him. He would have felt pity for him if he hadn’t been the reason why Ian and him hadn’t got off. The man needed a few seconds to be able to speak. 

“Come on Mandy, I owed you! It wasn’t a fair bet.”

Someone was getting his balls ripped that morning and, as much as Mickey and Ian’s hurt, it wasn’t theirs.

_________________________

Everyone was gathered around the table. The have been through the plan four times already and Phil insisted on repeating it until they knew every step by heart. It made sense, though. Their only advantage was the surprise factor and if they screwed it up, even if it was just a bit, all would go straight to hell.

They had located _Ortul Pharmaceutics_. It wasn’t far from there, or that’s what the rest had said. Because Ian had no fucking idea where they were. Aisha had been the one in charge to gather together all the information she could find about the headquarters. Apparently, her research and hacker skills were legendary. So when she had come back around ten in the morning after one hour and a half out, she brought a couple of plans and a pile of papers under her left arm. The other hand was busy holding the caramel brûlée latte from Starbucks she was sipping. Because she knew when she had to treat herself.

“So we’ll split in several groups.” Phil commanded. “Aisha and I will be in the first group.”

He shot a meaningful look at the woman who was idly relied on the only wardrobe in the apartment and nodded.

“Second group will be formed by Ian, Mickey and Dev.” The man continued. “I know you two can defend  in yourselves but Dev has been trained for a long time and I need to be sure you’re going to be okay.”

Ian caught the moment Mickey was opening his mouth to protest or shit on Phil. But the redhead was faster and stopped him grabbing his groin with the hand. Whatever it was that Mickey had planned to say, had been blocked. Ian could tell it for the small yell he heard from the other man’s lips. “Yeah. No problem Phil.”

“Svetlana, Mandy and Scott you’re in the third – “

“Hell no, don’t count on me for this.”

Ten heads snapped and directed their eyes to Scott. He had his arms crossed around his chest and looking smug. Ian rolled his eyes because of-fucking-course his asshole ex-boyfriend didn’t want to help them. He would personally kick his ass if they wouldn’t need him. And they did.

“Don’t look at me like this. This is not my mess and I’m not going to put myself in danger for any of you.”

Absolutely everybody blinked at him trying to assimilate they had heard well. But Svetlana went further and clenched her jaw sending a murderous look. Scott immediately put his hands over his groin to protect them from any other attack from the woman. The waitress couldn’t avoid smiling when she realized that jackass was shit scared of her. Good. She loved to feed on the asshole’s blood.

“What the fuck Scott? Don’t you see we saved your ass? You ungrateful son of a bitch!” Aisha was pissed. Normally, she’s cute and nice to people. But when someone was a pain in the ass, she just turned into an asskicker. And she was so done with Scott’s shit.

“Fuck you! You were the ones who brought me here against my will and locked me up in that hole.”

Ian covered his face with the palm of his hand. He couldn’t believe his ex was going down that road. Really, for the hundredth time, why the fuck did he date him?

“Hypnos was going to get you and torture you, you piece of trash!”

Everyone else was surprisingly quiet watching the scene. They all nodded to what Aisha said and pulled a grimace whenever Scott spoke. Why did they keep him alive again?

“You don’t know that for sure, _woman_.” He said with a tingle of disdain. “So if you think I’m going to risk my ass for you –“

“Not even for me?” Ian’s question stopped Scott in his track. That was one of the intentions, though. Aisha was fuming and she was preparing herself to choke the sandy boy o death.

Scott was taken aback for his ex-boyfriend’s intervention and looked and him with his jaw on the floor before pulling himself together and answering. “You have gay Johnny Bravo there to protect you. You don’t need my help.” He muttered while tiling his head to Mickey.

Ian heard Mickey snort next to him. And the scriptwriter had to pull all his strength not to laugh because of the irony. If someone was a gay Johnny Bravo in that room, that was Scott.

The redhead moved around the table and placed himself in front of Scott. Nearer than he would like to be, but he had no choice.

“But I need you.” His voice was deep but soft. “Let’s make a deal, okay?”

Ian raised his eyebrows and took the Scott’s gulp as a cue to continue. He then stretched his arm and caressed his biceps with his thumb. The sandy boy was already hard and Ian smirked because it was so pathetic. “If you help us, I’ll go back with you once this will be over, okay?”

“Fuck no!” Mickey was ready to jump over the table and stop that shit when Ian shot him a meaningful look that cancelled any of his intentions. Then the redhead focused his attention on his ex-boyfriend again. “Okay?”

Scott hadn’t nodded harder in his lame life. “Good.” Ian added with a smile. “Now go take a shower, the bathroom is free.” And Scott complied, as if it were going to help him get Ian’s dick faster.

Once Scott disappeared, Ian felt two hands on his shoulders and spun him around. “What the fuck Ian? Are you really going back with him?” Mandy was yelling again. God! Would she calm herself anytime soon?

“Yeah” Ian answered. “And then I go into that wardrobe and I’ll get to fucking Narnia.” The punch on his arm wasn’t exactly friendly but he supposed he deserved it.

“What is it to you gays and closets?” Dev looked the wardrobe for a moment as if it held all the answers of the universe. Was it supposed to be a joke or a real question?

Svetlana shrugged. “They’re warm and cosy in winter.”

“You didn’t freak out, why you didn’t freak out?” Mandy didn’t lowered her voice and her brother flinched because why the fuck was she yelling at him?

“Jesus Mandy! You could see Ian’s intentions from miles away. We’re lucky that piece of shit is dumbass enough to fall for it.”

“You know you’ll have to maintain that charade when he’s around, right?” Marie wasn’t a woman of words. In fact, she always looked like she was judging them with her dark eyes and her dreadlocks. But whenever she spoke, she made a great contribution.

“I suppose. I haven’t thought about it. I just did what I had to do to make him help us.” Ian scratched his forehead. He couldn’t believe he had made things even more complicated.

“I’m good at pretending. I’ll feign I want to fight for him and I’ll declare war to Scott.” Mickey could see the positive side of this turn of events.

“No violence, Mickey! We still need him in one piece.” The mechanic’s face fell from disappointment for a minute after Phil’s order.

“Don’t worry, your majesty. My bombs will be words. No physical violence in your castle.”

They all rolled their eyes at Mickey’s attempts to make fun of Phil. He was surprised by it. He meant what he had said. He was already signing a song of war in his head.

“Now, can we continue with the plan, please?”

_________________________

Lip hadn’t been outside the bathroom for the last ten minutes just to wait for Mandy. And he definitely hadn’t hidden behind one of the columns in the apartment when he saw Dev coming.

Dev knocked at the bathroom door and ran a hand through his hair. Ian’s brother took the time to analyse the competition. He certainly was attractive. And tall. Lip had always been self-confident and very aware of his effect on women. But he couldn’t help feeling that guy had something he didn’t.

The door opened and Mandy emerged from the bathroom. As beautiful as always. The lawyer kicked himself for screwed it up years ago. He had used her and he would totally understand if she didn’t want to fuck with him again. But he couldn’t avoid to think they had unfinished business.

All his thoughts and hopes crashed on the floor when they locked their lips together. He stayed there, covered by the column and the shadow watching how his subject of desire was taken by another man. As much as he wanted, he couldn’t take his eyes off them as the kiss deepened.

“Ey sister-in-law! Can’t you do that hetero shit somewhere else? We eat in this room.”

He had been so focused on the couple that he was shocked to see Svetlana there. The woman was in front of them, looking pissed and with her hands of her hips. Her fingers tapped on her T-shirt waiting a reaction from them.

Lip knew Mandy didn’t give a shit. Or at least, she doesn’t usually give a shit. But Svetlana was a very imposing woman and he didn’t know how the black haired woman would react with her.

Dev untangled himself out of Mandy’s grip and fidgeted awkwardly. Lip bet his ass Dev’s face was as red as a fucking tomato. Mandy however, just snapped her tongue in annoyance and grabbed Dev’s hand. She muttered _“sure, sis”_ on their way to her bedroom.

The slam of the door echoed through the nearly empty room and Lip felt like he had just been slapped in the face.

“You okay, smart boy?”

What the fuck? Were Russian people born with x-rays? How did she know he was there?

“You’re shitty at hiding. I can see you from here. Besides, I heard your whimpering.”

Lip stepped into the light and prepared himself to face the woman. She had been nice to him since they met. And he didn’t know why. After all, his brother was banging her husband. She should be at least a bit annoyed about that.

“Mickey says it was matter of time that happened.” Lip nodded because even if he had only seen them together just for a few hours, he could see the chemistry. “You need to talk?”

She has a shy smile that made Lip feel better. God, that woman was definitely intimidating but for a fuck’s know reason, she was kind to him. And the lawyer wasn’t going to screw that up.

“Don’t worry. It’s not the first time, anyway. But thanks.” He waved her goodbye and headed to the balcony. He needed a fucking smoke. Or three.

_________________________

Mickey found him in the kitchen. And he was alone. The room was a mess and the only thing that worked was the faucet, the fridge and a shitty microwave that was older than Christopher Lee.

Scott was drinking a glass of water that crashed on the floor when he realized the thug was there. The mechanic smiled at the reaction but felt the disappointment when he realized the stain on his jeans was the fallen water and not because he had pissed himself when he saw him.

Mickey started to move towards him and Scott darted everywhere in search of a weapon. But all he could do was hit Mickey with a bag of chips. “Don’t come nearer.”

The black haired man wiped his face with his hand because he couldn’t believe this was true. He had literally been smacked with a bag of chips and the guy was threatening him.

Mickey decided to go for it and finish that round quickly. So he fisted Scott’s T-shirt and slammed him to the counter. The mechanic could see the fear in his eyes, the heart beating faster and the horror in his face. And fuck, he had missed that so much he was almost thankful to the jerk.

“So you want to go back to Ian, huh?”

Scott gulped and the mechanic tightened his grip on him making him whine.

“It was- it was him. It was Ian’s idea. I- I said nothing.” Scott stuttered.

Mickey wasn’t surprised by what a pussy the sandy boy was. He really deserved a beatdown for not admitting his responsibility in the turn of events. “I don’t fucking care whose idea this was. You and Gallagher are not going to happen again.”

Scott closed his eyes every time Mickey spoke. Maybe he was trying to lower the impact of his words but it was worse. “That should be his call, not yours.”

“Damn right it’s his call. So now, you’re going to go to him and tell him he doesn’t need to promise anything because you’re gonna help us anyway.”

“Why should I do that?” Scott asked in a moment of bravery.

“Because if you don’t, I’m going to rip your dick and shove it down your throat.” Mickey shook him to make more impact to his words. “Understand?”

Scott nodded faster than a few hours before. He had received more death threats in twenty four hours than in his whole life. And he was sick of it.

“Good.” Mickey let him go and turned to get out of the kitchen. He knew Scott wasn’t going to surrender so easily and the mechanic was willing to fight him. He didn’t know what he had got himself into, his bitter end started now. However, he was done for that day. Mickey had other plans for that night. He was going to his room and fuck Ian until his body said it was enough. The real war started in a day.


	14. You Think I Ain’t Worth a Dollar but I Feel Like a Millionaire

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Beta'd by the amazing baclblood.
> 
> I won't be able to post a new chapter next week because I'm going on a trip. Now that I was updating this fic weekly... 
> 
> Enjoy the chapter and thanks for reading!!

Ian Gallagher knew how to fight. He had been trained for it. Moreover, his dream for years was serving his country and fighting for it. He worked hard to achieve his goal. He went to ROTC, practiced after school on his own, studied hard to get the grades he needed to be accepted into West Point and got his brother Lip to tutor him. But all went to shit when he was diagnosed bipolar disorder.

His dream was over. He had planned his whole future around a goal that suddenly crashed. All the pieces were scattered on the floor. However, Ian never gave up and he collected one by one and put them together until he created this new future. Maybe it wasn’t so perfect as the first one, perhaps the redhead couldn’t see his reflection so clearly on it; but he certainly felt it as his. Ian Gallagher went to college and became a scriptwriter.

Each night, he told himself he was a fighter. Every day he fought a new battle and when he got to his apartment, he looked at the mirror and he recognized himself. Because he wasn’t living his childhood’s dream, but he was the person he wanted to be.

So Ian Gallagher knew how to fight. Because despite he hadn’t become a soldier, fighting ran through his veins. He hadn’t been on a war but he had been preparing himself for years to be in one.  And he would be doomed if he wasn’t ready to fight that night.

That night. It was his first thought when he woke up that morning with his legs intertwined with Mickey’s, his arm around the older man’s waist and his lips brushing the back of his lover’s neck. That thought continued while he chewed the oatmeal in the living room. Slightly interrupted to remark Mickey had been right and the oatmeal was shit. He chuckled because who the fuck thought it was a good idea to buy that crap when they could spend their money on Cheerios?

He felt Scott’s presence when he had been sitting by the scriptwriter for a while. He had been so immersed in his thoughts that he had not noticed the moment his ex-boyfriend had invaded his personal space. He rolled his eyes because it had become a ritual to do every time Scott was around. He could see the blond was nervous. He kept tapping his left foot on the floor repeatedly and he tried to comb his hair with an imaginary comb. Then he thought he had been very lucky Mickey was still sleeping and not punching him in the face for sitting next to him. Ian smiled at the thought he had worn each other out last night. He would have gladly stayed in bed with him but he had to wake up early to take his meds. The sex was great. In fact, more than that, it was spectacular. They had a problem, though: they had run out of condoms. When you have to run for your life, sex isn’t on your top priorities and he had forgotten to take them before leaving the hotel room. And thank god Ian and Mickey had a few in their wallets because he would have exploded like a fucking geyser he hadn’t had his dick in Mickey’s ass at least once.

His brain rambled about Mickey and sex as a horny teenager – seriously, since when was he going through a second puberty? – while Scott decided to open his big mouth.

“Are you ready?”

Scott had never been good at specifying. He believed mystery was ninety percent of a guy’s attractiveness and he thought not being specific made him mysterious. He hadn’t realized yet that it made him even more ridiculous than he originally was. On their first date, the blond refused to tell Ian where he was from. Apparently, he was afraid the scriptwriter would find out he was from assholeland.

“For what?” Ian feigned to be interested in what his ex-boyfriend had to say. Well, to be honest, he wanted to know it because he was sure whatever the blond said, it was going to be amusing. So Ian widened his eyes and waited for the reply while he munched another spoonful of his breakfast.

“To be mine again.” Ian almost choked. He didn’t know if it had been because what Scott had said was hilarious as hell or because Svetlana and Lip, who were standing in the other side of the room, couldn’t stop a loud laugh. Svetlana looked right at Ian’s eyes and he smiled when the woman made him a gesture to let him know she would back him up if he needed to get rid of Scott. He hadn’t spoken with his lover’s wife alone. To be honest, he had avoided it. He knew she was a lesbian and there weren’t love feelings between Mickey and her but they were married. The situation was weird and, despite Ian had fucked married men before, he had never been in that position. So he felt relieved when he felt things could be normal between the two. If becoming friends with the guy you’re fucking’s wife can be called normal.

“Yeah? How are you so sure of that?” He had stopped staring at Svetlana and focused back on the man with the sandy hair after shaking his head lightly as an answer to the waitress’ question.

“Because I’m going to fight. For you.” If Ian and Scott were still together, that would have been one of the moments where his heart would have melted a bit. Maybe he would have accepted to live with him as the other man had wanted. Despite being the same words, they were different in that situation. They weren’t out of love or commitment. They were words full of interest and wrong selfishness. He was going to fight because he wanted Ian back but he was not fighting for Ian.

However, Ian had to pretend because they needed Scott. So he raised one of his eyebrows to make him look like he was interested and surprised. He leaned towards his ex-boyfriend and brushed his earlobe while his lips moved. “Then fight hard. The harder you fight the harder I’ll fuck you afterwards.”

The scriptwriter got up and went to the kitchen to leave the bowl in the sink. He had lost his appetite after that. Ian smirked to himself because Scott’s whole skeleton had become play-doh with what he had said to him and someone needed to remove him from the floor with a fucking shovel. But it wasn’t going to be Ian’s job. Hell no, that was done with picking up trash from the floor.

_________________________

Mandy laughed hard. Given the circumstances, laughing as much as she had for the last couple of days was even rude. But she couldn’t help it. Deep down, she was scared. Her brother and Ian were in danger. And she would kill for Mickey. So she would put her war paint that night and kick some bastard asses.

However, it was still noon and she couldn’t help cracking up at some dumb story Dev had just told her. She has just known him. Two days wasn’t enough to be so smitten. But Mandy had a thing for funny and strong guys and Dev was one of them. She liked the way he touched a lock of her hair before kissing her. Or how his mouth twitched every time someone called him Devendra instead of Dev just to piss him off. And she absolutely loved the tingle she felt in her stomach when he told her she was beautiful.

The shadow of that night was there. Constantly haunting them. But fuck if Mandy wasn’t going to try be a bit happy before she had to go all psycho. She had been trying to avoid thinking about that the whole time but the bubble broke when Ian stood next to where they went. And her laugh suddenly stopped. Back to reality, Mandy.

Ian was fidgeting and moving his hands everywhere as he was trying to locate his pack of smokes. But there was a hint of anxiety in his movements. Mandy wasn’t very perceptive but she noticed that.

“Are you okay?” Dev was by her side observing the men beside them as the woman was doing. The balcony wasn’t too big anyway, so they were pretty close.

Ian took the unlit cigarette to his lips and hi eyebrows rose in surprise until realization hit him. “Yeah. I just needed some air, you know?”

The woman nodded but she knew that was bullshit. However, she waited until he was ready to talk. Because she knew he was there to talk. Ian just needed a minute. So she looked at Dev for a moment and she flipped her black hair. “Is Mickey still sleeping?”

“Fuck no! It’s noon. He’s having breakfast, or lunch or fucking brunch.”

“I wouldn’t have been surprised if he had been in bed. The assface used to spend the whole day sleeping if he didn’t have to go for a run or steal some shit. We knew he was alive because he snores like a fucking train engine.”

Ian rolled his eyes. Mandy was exaggerating. “He doesn’t snore. He breathes heavily!”

The woman stared at him dead in the eye for a couple of seconds. He could feel the judgmental look under her dark bangs. “You must be too deep in Mickey’s ass if you think that’s breathing. Once Iggy and I burst into the room with shotguns because we thought fucking Baloo had devoured our brother and took his place. I’m not even kidding.”

“No shit!” Dev was cracking up. The only image of Mandy and one of her other brothers coming in Mickey’s bedroom preparing to shoot a bear was hilarious.

“I shit you not.”

And Ian had to admit that he always fell asleep before the older man. But when he got up to take their meds, he heard the snoring. “Maybe he snores a bit. But cut him some slack, it’s bearable.”

“Of fucking course it’s bearable for you. That mouth sucks your dick eagerly. I’ve seen it.”

“And I didn’t need that mental image, thank you!” exclaimed Dev.

Ian wiped the face with his hand after taking the first drag. That conversation was taking too long. He had gone there to talk about something that had nothing to do with Mickey going down on him.

“I want to thank you in advance, guys. You’re going to put your asses in danger for me and Mickey. And you know, you don’t need to –“

Ian couldn’t finish the sentence. He received a punch in his arm. Mandy seemed fragile which such a skinny body, but that girl knew how to throw a punch.

“Fuck you, douchebag! If you think I’m going to let my brother and you to go there alone you don’t know me at all.”

The scriptwriter was rubbing his arm and trying so ignore the urgency to leave the place. Because he was getting more and more nervous and he wanted to crawl to bed and stay there until they had to leave. Instead, he took another drag and put the cigarette out. He hadn’t feel like smoking anyway, just made it out of habit. Then he placed his hands on the waitress’ shoulders and looked at those eyes so similar to Mickey’s.

“I know you would kill for Mickey. I mainly said this for Dev. But you know, I didn’t want to sound rude and not appreciating your dedication to the cause.”

“You little shit!” Mandy punched in the arm again. Seriously, she had to stop doing that.

“I don’t accept your words. I’m a tall fucker.”

And they had to laugh. Because that was what they had left. They had to enjoy, live, laugh for the last hours. Maybe there wouldn’t be a tomorrow. So why waste it on worrying?

“You don’t need to thank me. This is not just your problem.” Dev hadn’t laughed. He was looking at Ian with determination and his expression was serious.

The redhead remember what they had been told when they first met them. They had all lost someone because of Hypnos.

“I know.”

Dev furrowed his brow. He seemed to hesitate for a few moments before clearing his throat. “My mom.” The man inhaled air between his teeth and let it go. “My mom was paired with a man from Louisiana. She arranged a meeting with him, just like you did. But she got trapped in the dream. Hypnos found them and who knows where she is or what they have done to her body.”

Mandy rested her chin on his shoulder. It was the first time she had heard Dev talking about any member of his family. He didn’t know what she had expected, but not that. He wrapped her with his strong arms and they hugged.

Ian had a lump in his throat that he couldn’t swallow. Mickey and Ian had been lucky and had found the way if getting out from the lucid dream. But it had been a coincidence. What if it had been different? It could have been them. Trapped forever in the dream, constantly attacked by that people.

Suddenly his brain stopped rambling and realized the scene he had in front of him. He turned and left. It was too intimate for him.

_________________________

It was the fourth time they went through the plan that day. They had gathered around the big table again after lunch and they were exhausted. Neither of them had been able to sleep a wink thinking about what was about to happen. So they had agreed to have a time to rest before starting to prepare everything and start the action.

But Mickey wasn’t annoyed because he hadn’t slept much or because the time to fight was coming. What really pissed him off was that Scott had spent the whole time they had been in the same room eye fucking Ian. The redhead had been by the mechanic’s side and ignoring his ex-boyfriend all the time. Mickey could deal with that.

However, once Phil was satisfied and said the meeting was over, Scott approached Ian. He seemed not giving a shit Svetlana or Mickey were there. It was like if he hadn’t been threatened by then. He invaded Ian’s personal space. And Mickey had to breathe deeply a couple of times to calm him down.

“I’ve been thinking. As I’m going to put my life in risk for you tonight, you could give me and advance.”

What the fuck? And that was when Mickey lost his shit. Before the redhead could even reacted, the mechanic grabbed him violently by his shirt and pinned him against the wall.

Mickey had him punch raised, prepared to collide it to Scott’s mouth and see him bleed. He could even picture some teeth flying out of his stupid mouth in anticipation. I bet he wouldn’t be so eager to suck Ian’s dick with no incisors.

But someone stopped him. He expected Ian and he found Phil. The older man was looking directly at his eyes with a scowl in his face.

“Mickey, remember what we talked about.”

And the mechanic, for the first time, did what Phil said without questioning him or saying a smartass comment. He just lowered his hand. However, the black haired man was far from letting Scott go. So he took the blond by the shirt with the other hand too and tightened his grip.

Scott whined. Jesus fucking Christ, he hadn’t even touched a hair from that stupid blond and he was ready to wet his bed. “Can you – can you stop? You’re hurting me.”

“Oh, I’m sorry Colin Firth. Isn’t this gentleman enough for you?” Mickey shook him and Scott whined even more.

“You’re right. You’re not a gentleman and you’ll never be.” The blond gulped and cleared his throat. “You can beat me as much as you want but that won’t change the fact that you will never deserve Ian.”

The whole room went blank. Until then, they had been observing the events in silence. But the moment Scott pronounced those words, everyone muttered something lowly. They knew that from that moment, Scott was a dead man walking.

Mickey hit the blond against the wall again. Those fucking baby whines were music for his ears. Then he eyed him for a couple of seconds. “I know what you all think about me and I don’t give a shit. You think I ain’t worth a dollar but I feel like a millionaire. Do you know why?” Scott shook his head immediately. “Because no matter how he ends, if he goes back to you after this. Ian wants me, not you. And he would lie next to you on your bed, he would fuck you. But every night he would dream about me and I’ll dream about him. Even when if Hypnos disappears.”

And after saying that, Mickey just detached his hands from him, turned and left. Scott was taking long gasps of air, but Ian had forgotten how to breathe. Because Mickey had never talked about how he felt about him. The scriptwriter had accepted that not rejecting him was his way of telling Ian that he wanted to be with him. But he had just blurted it out to an entire room. He had never felt that rush in his veins. His heart wasn’t beating, it was fucking skipping. And he couldn’t help the big smile in his face. Mickey had to know. He had to know Ian felt the same.

Ian heard the sigh coming from Lip’s mouth. His brother fetched the wallet in the pocket of his worn-out jeans and retrieved a condom. “If I were gay as hell as you are and Mickey Milkovich said that to a whole room I would fuck his brains out.”

Lip was offering Ian the rubber and he still couldn’t believe he was encouraging his brother to have sex with Mickey Milkovich. Was he approving Ian’s relationship or anal sex or candle making or whatever it was with the local thug? Lip had received some beatings from him and his brothers when they were teenagers. He had sworn revenge on the Milkovich brothers back when was sixteen years old. And now one of them could become his brother in law, what the fuck?

“I’m not gonna use it anyway.” He flicked his eyes towards Mandy who was talking to Aisha and looked at his brother again who was smiling at him.

“You’re so cheesy sometimes.” That sentence wasn’t true at all. In fact, it was the first time Ian heard the lawyer say something kind of romantic. Whenever they spoke about relationship it was as if his dick had took over the control of his mouth. In fact, that simile was quite gay. But again, Ian was queer and proud. To sum it up, Lip only had cared about sex. Until now, apparently.

“Just shut up and take the fucking condom. Fuck’s know in whose hole that dick has been before yours. Have safe sex.”

Ian was about to correct his brother and let him know that the only holes Mickey’s cock has been in was his mouth. But perhaps it was too much information and he would regret offering the condom. So he took it and followed Mickey’s steps.

__________________________

Ian opened the door and found Mickey sitting on the bed. His face showed the surprise of seeing Ian. The mechanic got up and he didn’t have even time to breathe because Ian crossed the room with just two strides and kissed him.

Mickey had never imagined Ian would come to get him. And if he did, he thought he would be pissed at him. So the mechanic didn’t react for a couple of seconds. But when he processed what it was happening, he snapped out of it and opened his mouth.

It was passionate, needy and rough. They moaned into each other’s mouth while they helped the other to strip from their clothes.

Suddenly, Ian pinned hard Mickey against the wall and broke the kiss. Mickey’s face was flushed and he was trying to catch his breath. “I need to be inside you. Now.” Ian’s voice was deep and made the other man’s dick twitch because fuck, nothing turned Mickey Milkovich on like tough Ian Gallagher.

“We can’t. We don’t ha-“ The black haired man stopped his words the moment Ian waved a condom in front of his face. And Mickey thought for the first time heaven existed.

“My brother gave it to me. He thought we should fuck.” Mickey had never believed he’d live the day he would be grateful to Lip Gallagher. But he did. God, this was it. It was the apocalypse.

He didn’t have time to process the thoughts because suddenly Ian was flipping him and throwing him on the bed. And that was just like Mickey loved sex. Unexpected, rough and with Ian.

The redhead didn’t lose time and his tongue drew a long stripe from the base of Mickey’s hard dick to the top. It was already leaking cum. Because that ginger idiot had ruined him and made him act like a horny teenager just with one look.

The mechanic arched his back when the younger man took him whole in his mouth. His lips were warm and his mouth hot. Mickey had to get some grip because he felt like he was on the edge and they had barely started.

Ian loved that cock. And loved it in his mouth. There was no way he would get tired of it. But above all, he loved the sound Mickey made when his nose met the mechanic’s black pubes, or how he recited his name like a prayer when he circled his tongue over the head of his lover’s cock. Or when he buried this hands in his red hair and pulled out of pleasure. Ian was sure he could come at that moment without even touching himself.

Mickey felt the first finger in his hole and moaned. That was too much for him and he needed Ian in him. “Can you hurry the fuck up?”

The redhead let Mickey’s dick go and entered another digit. The mechanic bit his lip and closed his eyes while his lover stretched him. A third finger followed and Ian crawled through Mickey’s body to kiss him. The scriptwriter kept fingering him while their tongues touched. When Ian hit the prostate and Mickey arched his back beneath him, Ian removed the fingers and kissed him deepening the kiss for one moment.

Quickly, Ian rolled the condom on and positioned himself between Mickey’s legs. They didn’t have any lube left, so Ian entered Mickey slowly.

It hurt like a bitch. But despite the burn he felt full. He kept biting his lip just to control the grimace in his face until the redhead bottomed out. He didn’t want to freak Ian out.

They locked eyes and stared to each other while they took time to adjust to the new sensation. Ian took his right hand and ran it through his lover’s hair. It continued through his neck and followed his shoulder and arm without taking his eyes off Mickey’s. Then it met the mechanic’s hand and he hold it.

Instinctively, Mickey wrapped his legs around Ian’s waist while the other man placed their locked hands above his black head. After that, he started to move.

At first, the thrusts were short and slow. The scriptwriter didn’t want to hurt Mickey. But when the mechanic started to breathe harder, he fastened the speed. Little by little, he quickened the pace until it became ruthless and Ian had to use his free hand to place it on the wall. Mickey was grunting, moaning and crying his last name as if his life depended on it. And fuck if those weren’t the most beautiful sounds he had ever heard. So he lowered his head and kissed those addictive lips.

Mickey couldn’t take it anymore. He brushed Ian off him and straddled him. He could see the confusion in his face, until he understood. The mechanic started to lower himself and felt the shaft entering him. He didn’t stop when he heard a loud moan escaping Ian’s lips. He just stopped when he was fully seated. And then he started to move.

It was a new sensation to ride Ian. He could clearly see his face and observe every move of his body, every reaction each of his moves provoked on Ian. The redhead had his face flushed, his lips parted and his hair was messy. It was the most beautiful thing Mickey had ever seen. He kept riding Ian in a fast face until the redhead’s dick brushed his prostate. The mechanic cried and he had to hold something. So he grabbed Ian’s hand and intertwined their fingers.

He had never felt like this. He had never had the necessity of holding hands while fucking. And then he understood. It wasn’t sex anymore. That was love. Mickey Milkovich and Ian Gallagher were making love.

His head told him he should stop. No matter how good it was, he had to run. But Ian opened his eyes and cried his name. Mickey kissed him with all his heart and he knew he was in love. He couldn’t deny it anymore. Mickey loved Ian.

They were both over the edge. And when Ian broke the kiss, he grabbed Mickey’s cock and started to jerk the mechanic off. Mickey only lasted a few more seconds before coming, spilling all his cum on Ian’s belly. He kept riding Ian, though. Brushing his prostate until Ian came hard not so long after.

Mickey lied next to the younger man and tilled his head to kiss him one more time. They brushed their noses before untangling again. It had been one of the most intense moments in Mickey’s life and he needed to process everything.

And some minutes later, when Mickey was about to fall asleep and Ian was pressed on his back, he heard it. It was a low and soft “I love you.”

__________________________

“What do you want dumbass?” Mickey could tell Mandy was pissed because he had dragged her out from her bedroom. She had enough time to fuck Dev, he needed her there with him.

“Shut the fuck up, bitch! I need to tell you something.”

“You need help to kill Scott and hide the body? Because I know this technique my uncle Alexei taught me when I was a little girl and they won’t find trace of him.”

His wife really scared the shit out of him. How could that woman have so many murderous skills? He was aware her icy look could give you a heart attack but Svetlana knew how to end someone violently. That blond asshole didn’t know where he got himself into, Svetlana seemed to find pleasure in his pain.

“No, it’s not that. But hold that thought.” If Scott dared to touch a single ginger hair, Mickey was going to need it.

“So what is it then?” Mandy asked impatiently.

The mechanic ignored his sister’s bitchy attitude and sat on the bed he shared with Ian. “In an hour or so we are going out from this building and put ourselves in danger.” He gulped and checked their faces. They realized where the topic was about and the two women sat with him so Mickey was in the middle.

“You two are annoying as fuck, you’re constantly bitching and I want to kill you most of the time but you’re my family, you know?” He felt a warm hand on his shoulder and turned his head to look at his sister. She had a small smile and that was enough to let him know she would do anything for him. Just like when they were kids and they hid each other from Terry.

“This is about me and Ian, not about you. So I want you to promise me that whatever happens, if things get fucked you’ll leave and let me there.”

Svetlana started to protest. Because there was no way in hell she was going to let her husband die or get caught. She would rip their heads off before anyone could lay a finger on Mickey.

Mandy, on the other hand, skipped the protesting and went directly to the punching part. If Ian had thought she punched hard, he was wrong. Because she had never felt so much rage in her life.

“You come to me and tell me I should let you die? Fuck you!”

But Mickey was fast. He had dealt with her anger for years. So he caught her knuckles and hold then with his hands.

“Shut the fuck up!” Mickey screamed. That made the two women fall in silence and listen to him.

“We can’t all die. You are not going to die for me. So when the time comes, if it comes, just save yourselves. What’s the point of throwing some more bullets if they are going to win and you are going to die anyway?” Mickey cleared his throat because the lump in his throat was killing him and he couldn’t afford to cry when he was trying to be strong. “But I’ll promise you this. I’m going to kick as many motherfuckers’ asses as I can. And I won’t be easy to catch. I’m a Milkovich after all.”

“We all are, asshole!” And Mandy was smiling. God, she was so gorgeous when she smiled. He regretted he hadn’t seen it more often.

“So you promise me that?”

The two women nodded and he hugged them. He can count with his hand the times he had hugged someone. But that was one of those times. Because he loved those two women and he needed to feel them close. He caressed their hairs and buried his head between their shoulders for a moment.

When it ended, he had barely kept the tears in his blue eyes but he managed to do it. Mandy and Svetlana were about to do out from the bedroom but he there was one thing left to say.

“Just one more thing.” His voice was broken and he took a moment to clear his voice. “If things get ugly, take Ian with you. Because if someone has to fall, it can’t be him.”

And just then, Mickey was prepared to fight.


	15. Shoot the Runner

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Beta'd by the amazing baclblood.
> 
> Chapter shorter than usual, sorry u.u I hope you enjoy it anyway.
> 
> Thanks for reading!

It was a beautiful night to start a revolution. That was what Aisha thought when she got out of the Van. She has been waiting years for that night. It wasn’t a matter of revenge for her, but justice. She had witnessed the death of Mourad, her older brother, and the whole event shook her dreams every night. Her first thought in the morning was for her sibling and she needed to stop thinking about him so much. She had to move on and keep pursuing her dream of becoming a pilot. But, after losing her parents at a young age in a car accident and Mourad being murdered by Hypnos, she had no one else in her life. So she needed to destroy those motherfuckers before going on with her life.

The young woman reached under the front seat and got a big black duffel-bag. Everyone else had gathered around her under Phil’s command and she wasted no more time. Aisha dropped it on the floor and kneeled before the bag. She opened the zipper and revealed an arsenal. She wasn’t expecting a big reaction. After all, they all knew who they were dealing with and that they were going to war. But when she looked up, she couldn’t avoid being more relieved to see Ian and Mickey’s faces all lit like some goddammed glowworms. Beaming like two children opening their Christmas presents. It was a more than weird and serious fucked up reaction at seeing some guns and AK 47s. She would definitely be worried about it and run as much as she could away from them in any other situation. However, that time she shrugged and started to share the firearms out.

Some of them had brought some alternative weapons. For example, Mickey had a baseball bat hanging from his jeans, Ben wore brass knuckles and Ian was playing with a butterfly knife. Everyone agreed with their guns when Phil assigned to them. However, Scott was the last one in the line and his eyes widened when he realized no firearm was left in the duffel-bag.

“What? I don’t get a gun?”

Aisha raised her eyebrows and sighed. She didn’t have time for shit, not to mention Scott’s shit. So she ignored him even when the blond kept asking her about his goddammed weapon. She was about to get her Colt Anaconda and shove it up his butt until he saw a blackhole bigger than his own ass when Phil stepped in.

“You do get a weapon.” He opened his backpack and retrieved an expandable baton and twisted his wrist to offer it to the other man. “Here.”

Scott looked at the supposed weapon for a few seconds. What.the.fuck. He finally reacted and opened his mouth. “What is this shit? Are you kidding me?”

Phil didn’t even blink. He was prepared for that conversation. He had imagined the blond wouldn’t agree with his assigned weapon. “This is a baton.” Phil said calmly while he hid the duffel-bag in the van.

“Yes, I can see that. But why do I get this when everybody else has firearms?”

“Because the rest of us are familiar with them.” Phil started to explain while the rest rolled their eyes. “You would hit your face with the fucking gun the moment you fired it.”

Phil didn’t wait for Scott’s reaction. He just turned around and looked to the other people that were waiting for their instructions.

“Okay. Just like we talked. Aisha and I will be at the front, then Ian and Mickey with Dev and the rest at the back. Got it?”

Everyone nodded and started to walk towards the building. But, of course, Scott hadn’t finished. “This is unfair. How am I going to fight with this? This is shit.”

“No it isn’t. You can totally win a fight with this. Now shut up.” Aisha decided it was the last word he said to that whining blond.

“Like hell! This doesn’t hurt a fly!”

That was it. Mandy turned around, reached Scott and grabbed the baton. She extended it masterly with a quick shake of her hand and hit the man on his left ribs. Before Scott could realize what she was doing, he was on the floor crying like a baby.

“I don’t know, it hurt you. I think it works.” She shrugged and joined her group.

“Isn’t it fucking pleasant to hit that sandy boy?” Svetlana smiled when Mandy nodded quickly.

_________________________

They entered through the air duct. They had realized after examining the plans that there was an air duct on a side of the building that lead to the technological department. That’s where their target was.

The entrance to the air duct was a bit high and they had to use a rope to get to it. Phil was the first one to go as he had the tools he used to get rid of the huge grille that blocked the entrance to the duct.

Mickey has always been fit. He had been running from the police since he can remember and his only hobby in all his stints in juvie, besides fucking or getting a blowjob in one of the bathroom stalls, was doing chin-ups and pull-ups. There wasn’t much to do there. He could have gone to the library and read some books. Yes, he could have done that if he wanted to get his head in the toilet while Giant Mike and his gang flushed after one of them had dropped a log. They were not very fond of intellectual people.

After that, Mickey got the habit of doing pull ups before his daily shower at the afternoon. But he had never been good at climbing, not to mention a fucking rope. But apparently, he wasn’t the only one. Everyone else was struggling to reach the duct. So Mickey didn’t feel bad for taking a whole goddammed minute to get into the hole.

Then, it was Ian’s turn. And the mechanic rolled his eyes to heaven because of fucking course the redhead climbed in five seconds and without effort. Fucking ROTC. They trained people to be soldiers; not Tarzan, Jesus.

Once they were all inside, they started to move.

The plan was simple and yet complicated. Given they couldn’t remove the chips without dying and the lack of time to warn all the subjects not active, they only had an option. Phil had explained the chip was attached to their brains, so taking it out would mean causing a stroke and dying. They only way to bringing Hypnos down was destroying the power they had in the people they used. Then, the solution was easy: make the chips useless. The only way to accomplish that was destroying the _brain_. It was the name they used to call the big computer which controlled the whole project. Without the _brain_ , Hypnos was nothing but a bunch of fucking geeks jerking off at the sight of a huge computer skeleton.

So for the Southsiders, destroying the source of Hypnos’ power was the easy part. They only had to aim their weapons, pull the trigger and not stopping until that motherfucker had more holes than a fucking strainer. Shooting was in their veins, they’d been firing arms since they got their first pube. A kind of South Side initiation ritual. In other parts of the world they had an extra piece of cake for dessert. In the South Side you are taught how to shoot and get hammered.

The difficult part was getting there without being noticed. The air duct led them to the corridor where the room with the _brain_ was. But that corridor was huge and without a corner to hide. There was a ninety per cent possibility of being seen. And that meant a fight. Mickey had never backed down from one. He had even encouraged several when he was bored. But this? This was another level of fight. No punches here, just bullets.

They got to their destination. Ben took a look through the grille and let out a small grunt when he saw two guards walking back and forth though the corridor with guns, of course. They were only two against eleven but it wasn’t as easy as it seemed. They would call for back up the moment they’ll see them.

However, they had thought on that possibility and they had a plan. It wasn’t the ideal thing to do but desperate times call for desperate measures. Everybody stayed in silence while Aisha retrieved a tablet from her backpack.  All they could hear were their breathing until suddenly, the fire alarm went off.

They didn’t move while they listened to the scream and the steps of different people running from the corridor. And when the coast was clear, Ben removed the grille and jumped.

“Okay, we have about three minutes until they realize there isn’t a fire.” Phil says once they all were on the floor. “Now we have to look for the _brain_. Let’s split in groups and check the rooms. Whoever finds it, inform the rest.”

The whole group nodded in agreement and separated. Aisha and Phil went to check the rooms from the far left side of the corridor; Dev Ian and Mickey the ones in the center and the rest the rooms on the right side.

Ian was nervous. He had been in a lot of difficult situations in his life, but not like that. At least he was sure of his skills and he was ready to kill if the situation required it. So when he opened the door and saw four unarmed men standing in the middle of it, he didn’t blink and went to tackle them. He brought two on the floor and fists flew from one face to another. He could hear Mickey’s grunts when he stopped a punch and he rapidly headbutted the motherfucker. Dev didn’t even flinch when he took a knife off his pocket and stabbed it in the stomach of his aggressor. The other guy hadn’t even had the chance to throw a blow.

It was all too quick. Two more men appeared out of the blue. The door was on the other side of the room. Where the fuck did they come from? Were they using fucking _floo powder_ or what? _It would be all easier if they existed. I only had to say brain and he would appear before the bloody machine._ Ian thought while he stood up and kicked the two men until knocking them out.

He looked at Mickey and Dev who were on his left and they were both handling the other two men. But Mickey lost the grip of the baseball bat he was using and the other guy took the opportunity to jump on the mechanic and they both were on the floor. The aggressor was too big and Mickey couldn’t take the body off of him. He felt the impact of a fist on his nose and the metallic taste of the blood in his mouth. He tried to roll that son of a bitch off him but his weight was too much. That was when he felt the hands around his neck. He let a gasp out when the pressure of the fingers blocked his trachea. Mickey threw punches and tried to kick the men who was choking him, but nothing worked. His face was turning purple and he really attempted not to look the satisfaction face that douchebag had when he was killing him.

Ian didn’t even think twice. Hell no. He would die fighting before someone else laid another finger on Mickey. If someone had to bleed there, it was him, not the mechanic. He grabbed the baseball bat from the floor and aimed that fat ass’ head.

The black-haired man notice the other body going limp and the hands loosing around his neck. He didn’t miss the opportunity and sat up to finally breathe. Ian grabbed him by his shoulders and he got up after coughing a couple of times.

He looked at Dev who smiled at the two unconscious men at his feet. And focused his attention back to Ian.

“You okay?” Asked Ian in concern while he caressed the mechanic’s cheek with his thumb. Mickey placed his left hand on the scriptwriter’s arm and nodded.

“Thanks man.”

“I had to do it, you know? I have to protect what is mine. And your ass belongs to me now.” Mickey shook his head. That was the man he had chosen to love and he was a total dork.

“Fucking psycho.”

Ian didn’t have time to reciprocate the smile on his lover’s face when one of the men they had fought against, got up and ran to the door. The three men chased after him and he bumped into Mandy when he got to the corridor.

“Shoot that motherfucker, Mandy!” Dev yelled. “Shoot the runner! He’s going to tell the others we’re here!”

But he had already turned the corner by the time Mandy held her gun. The rest of the group was behind her and they all ran to try and stop the man. They weren’t split in smaller groups as they were supposed to be all the time. Mickey and Mandy were in the lead while Ian was at the end.

They could see the guy. He was opening the door which led to the stairs. Possibly, the security guards were on some other floor of the building. If they couldn’t stop him, all was over. They had to leave and hide from Hypnos again.

They were on the stairs and thank to the slowness of the man, Mandy was about to catch him. She brushed the cotton of his shirt with the tips of her fingers when the blackout happened.

Mickey grabbed Mandy by her arm and held her tight. Thank god, he was next to him when all went black. “Ian! Ian! Svetlana!”

“I’m here! I’m fine!” He heard the woman say. The moment of relief he felt when he knew his wife was okay vanished when he heard Ian scream.

“Get your hands off me!” his voice was desperate and furious. “No! Mickey!”

“Ian!” Mickey shouted before running in the dark trying to get to the scriptwriter. Lip did the same and Mandy followed them when Dev’s screams filled the room.

But both men’s voices were muffled by a hand or a gag. When Phil finally found the torch in his backpack and lit it, Dev and Ian had disappeared.

“Ian! Ian!” Mickey snatched the flashlight from the older man and ran upstairs. He couldn’t reach the next floor because he was retained by Ben and Lip. “Get off me, fuckers! Ian!”

Phil covered the mechanic’s mouth with his hand while Mickey tried to release himself from the two men. “I know you want Ian back. But they have him. And Dev too. We will rescue them. I promise you that. But I need you to be quiet or they’ll come for us too.”

Mickey’s eyes moved for a few seconds while Phil’s words sank in. Then, after the mechanic nodded, the older man moved the hand away and Mickey was released. “Now let’s go back to the air duct and let’s think on a plan.”

He stood there for a moment when everybody left the stairs. He looked at the floor and found Scott on a corner sobbing. He watched him cry until he decided to open his mouth. “Get the fuck up!”

He obeyed and for a moment, looked at Mickey in the eyes. Scott was totally broken, the mechanic could see that. There was a huge difference between their reactions. Mickey was ready to rip heads off to get Ian back and Scott just wanted to cry and regret that Ian had been captured. Scott was a pussy and Mickey Milkovich laughed at them and beat them until they found a bit of bravery.

However, he took two steps towards him and waited for the man to look up again. “I swear to god I’ll gut them and bring Ian back safe and sound.”

And for the first time, Mickey felt Scott needed a break. He, however, didn’t. He was burning in rage and pity for those who had messed with Mickey Milkovich’s most valuable thing in the world. Because they had just dug up their own graves.


	16. From Can to Can't

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm such a trash person for taking so long to update but I've been very busy with work and college. Sorry :(
> 
> Beta'd by the amazing baclblood. 
> 
> Thank you for reading!

Kate remembered the exact moment her husband had told her he was in love with another woman. Her entire world crumbled under her feet and she felt like she was falling without control. How did this happen? It was the first of many times she made herself ask that question. They had just gotten married two months ago and then she was holding her fork with a piece of salmon half-way to her mouth totally frozen.

She heard when Chris, her husband, told her he didn’t know her in real life. He had been dreaming for the last month with Diana and he was sure she existed. She thought he was crazy because, obviously, that girl didn’t exist and it was all in his head. But Chris talked in his dreams and he kept repeating the same word over and over. It wasn’t Diana, it was Hypnos. She had always had the idea of looking into that name and getting some answers, but she had been too scared of what she might find there. She could live with a husband in love with some inexistent woman. But when four months after Christ’s confession she witnessed how her husband shot himself in his head between cries and tears, saying he couldn’t live that lie anymore; then she decided to investigate and she found Phil.

She was young and she had been a very cheerful and chatty girl. That was before two months after her wedding and the day she realized she had lost the love of her life. Now she was cold, quiet and a loner.

So she understood Mickey. They were back in the air duct and everyone kept trying to cheer him up and tell him everything was going to be okay. But she could see him shut up. That was the reason why she stretched her hand and placed it on the mechanic shoulder.

“It’s okay. Take your time, it’s okay.” She was taken aback when he raised his head for the first time since they were hidden and noticed how glassy their blue eyes were. Kate could only think that the light but intense color made contrast with her dark skin and she didn’t say a thing when she saw a tear running through his cheek.

“Okay, new plan.” Phil was in the middle and trying to deal with the fucked up situation. “We wait here until someone comes through the corridor, we capture them and interrogate until they spill out where Ian and Dev are.”

“Thank you Phil, it’s so nice I have your approval to kick some asses for taking my brother!”

Lip was being loud but not as much as Mandy was. The girl kept swearing and sending threats to whoever could hear her which, by the way, it was only them. And in the middle of those two, Svetlana was trying to keep them under control.

“Shut the fuck up you two or else I’ll send you to Russia where Putin will have your homosexual asses!”

That worked. For a second. Then Lip opened his mouth, this time in a lower tone. “But we’re not gays.” The scowl on his face didn’t clarify if it was out of confusion or offense.

“He doesn’t know that and I just need a phone call to make them believe so. So now shut your mouth and let’s get the boys back, Jesus!”

If someone pulled that crap on her, she would have killed them. However, there were some licenses she could take as a Russian and a lesbian. But she was worried about her husband. He hadn’t said a word since he had got into the air duct dragging that sandy boy with him. She couldn’t care less about Scott, though. He was at one of their extremes sobbing like a baby. At least he wasn’t disturbing them, she would give him that. And that was why, at that time, Svetlana tolerated Scott.

\------------------------

They only had to wait for five minutes. Two men with lab coats had decided it was a good idea to go through that corridor that day. Little they knew it had been the most terrible idea they had ever had. Tom and Corey were talking about such tedious, banal and boring topic as doing their taxes. Corey complained the government was the one to blame for his inability to buy the yacht he had dreamt since he had been a child. Tom snorted because not even drinking unicorn blood and living five hundred years, they would be able to afford a simple boat. Not with their payroll at the fucking Ortul Pharmaceutics.

Suddenly, both men heard a thud and turned around just to find two men and a woman staring at them. They didn’t know where they had come from, but Corey had the slight suspicion they didn’t work there and they weren’t there for a guided tour. Not to mention they had a murderous look that was aimed to their throats.

Tom gulped and prepared himself to activate his infallible mechanism of defense: scream and run.  But before he could even get air in his lungs, the black-haired man with blue eyes kicked his knee so hard that he instinctively fell on the floor on his hurt joint and received another blow that sent his head on the cold tiles.  He hadn’t even had time to feel the rest of his body when his aggressor’s arm was blocking his throat and barely letting him breathe. He would have sworn the other man was shorter than him and he could have taken him. But appearances weren’t his allies that time. He looked at his right just to see his colleague on the floor being gauged by the woman’s hand, who was sat on him. He didn’t know how his mind had decided he had time for that, but he thought the two aggressors could be brother and sister. 

“You two fuckers are gonna tell me where my brother and my friend are.”

Oh shit! Tom had totally forgotten there was a third person. Both men looked at the man standing in the middle of them and kept their mouth shut.

Corey could see the woman on top of him tilting her head and showing a funny smile. She was gorgeous, he was not blind. And he would have a boner if he wasn’t scared like never in his life before. The woman moved her free hand and placed it on his groin and what escaped from his mouth wasn’t a moan but a yell. She was crashing his balls and he bet all his opportunities to become a father some day in the future flew out of the window.

“Tell me where the fuck they are or I’ll rip your microscopic dick off!”

And not only he had given up on his yacht but he was about to lose his magic wand too. Fuck it! He didn’t get paid enough for that.

“They’re with the brain,” the man confessed panting when the woman removed her hand from his mouth, “tenth floor, blue door.”

Mandy didn’t lose more time. She raised her victim and opened the nearest room.

“Let’s tie these motherfuckers so they can’t warn the others we’re going there.” Lip said while the rest of the gang got out from the air duct. But he stopped in his tracks when he realized Mickey hadn’t moved.

He was staring at the man under him. If they had even touched a hair in Ian’s head, if he saw any mark he didn’t have moments before he lost him, he would burn the place down. He didn’t even give a shit the flames could catch him. And that man was one of them. They had captured Ian and who knows if he was still alive.

Mickey tighten his arm against the man’s throat and his breath became frantic for a few seconds before he loosened his grip. The mechanic got up and sighed, not even looking away for a moment.

The rest, who had witnessed Mickey’s actions, relaxed when they heard the sigh just to panic a second later when the black-haired man started to beat the shit out of the man.

“You piece of Hypnos shit! You don’t know what you’ve done, you took what is mine!”

Mickey’s adrenaline was working and he didn’t even have to make an effort to get rid of the hands that tried to stop him. He, however, continued to discharge all his rage on the poor man who was already bleeding from his lip and left eyebrow. He really thought it was the day he was going to die.

“I’m gonna kill you all. I swear to god! I’ll kill you with my own hands, you son of bitches!”

A few seconds later, the mechanic was dragged away against his will by everyone but Lip, who was crouching next to the man writhing in pain on the floor.

The thug was still shouting at the man not even realizing he had been taken to another room by his lover’s brother. Once in a corner of the corridor, Phil got to him and shook his shoulders.

“Shut the fuck up, Mickey!” His scream was louder than any other Mickey had let out and that made the effect Phil had expected. The mechanic looked around him in silence and finally landed his eyes on the older man as if he had just got out of a trance.

“You’re not going to get Ian back this way!”

Mickey was fast on his feet. “Fuck you!” he said pushing Phil sending him a couple of steps backwards. “What do you know? You have nothing to lose here!”

“You know nothing Mickey! Stop acting like you do.” Phil was trying to calm himself but the mechanic really got on his nerves every time. It was like if Mickey were constantly trying to pick a fight. He hadn’t until that moment because Ian had been there. The redhead was his anchor and there was no doubt Hypnos had made a good job pairing them up. Now that he wasn’t there, he didn’t know how much longer he will be able to get Mickey under control.

The black-haired man let out a sad laugh and sniffed. “I just know I went from can to can’t. When I left that van I was sure we were going to end this bullshit, to destroy Hypnos. But then that Ian was-“ he stopped abruptly. He didn’t want to say it. If he voiced what his head was screaming, it might come true, so he stopped himself. Instead, he sighed and ran a bruised hand through his face. “I just don’t think we’ll get it.”

Mickey bit his lip hard and looked at the floor. He took the palm of his hand to his eyes and Mandy knew it. She had lived with her brother for so long that she knew every of his movements. So she went to him and hugged him with the same strength Mickey had when they found out their mom had died. He slid through the wall until hitting the floor and they stayed tangled in a hug. If somebody saw Mickey’s tears, they said something. The rest had to look away because they had just realized how much Mickey Milkovich loved Ian Gallagher.

He had earned the minute he needed.

\---------------------------

Mickey was ready. He knew it had been stupid the shit he had pulled a few minutes ago but he wasn’t going to apologize for it. Because he had needed it. He had been curling in a ball, just like Scott – minus the assholeness – and the explosion had been what had made him get the impulse to the surface. Until then, he had been a sinking stone.

He went to the air duct and got the impulse to get his head in it. Just enough to stretch his arm and reach his baseball bat. “Okay, let’s bash some brains.”

Mandy rolled her eyes. “You only have to bash a brain, dickhead!”

He looked at her with an incredulous face. Was his sister for real? How the fuck did they share DNA, he’ll never know “No shit! I was making a pun, bitch!”

“Well, then apparently you don’t get abilities by sucking dicks because Ian’s knowledge of the English language is far away from you. Gallifrey far away.”

Lip couldn’t do anything but grimace “Can’t you stop talking about my little brother getting his dick sucked, please? It’s disgusting!”

Mandy leaned her head and looked at her former lover funnily. Then she changed her face after a memory popped up in her head. “At least you didn’t have to see that shit while he ate Mickey’s ass.”

“What?!” Lip was so done of thinking that shit. Didn’t they know what too much information mean?

“Jesus Christ Mandy, can’t you keep your mouth shut?”

“Yeah, sure. You had it too wide open for the two of us.”

Lip was about to cut his ears off and Mickey was gripping the bat to use it against his sister when Aisha spoke.

“Guys, we have a situation here. Scott refuses to get up.”

Mickey licked his lips and pinched the bridge of his nose. Of fucking course it was Scott. They all gathered around the sandy boy and looked at the ball he had formed with his body.

“Scott, get up!” Phil said.

“No.” His voice was calm but shaky. He said it without strength as if he were already tired of fighting.

“Get the fuck up, loser!” This time was Kate who spoke. They were there looking at that guy while the time flew by.

“I can’t! I’d like to but I can’t. You’re strong, I get it, but I’m not. I’m devastated and the sorrow doesn’t even let me move an eyelash. So please, leave me here!”

Phil sighed and decided to give in. “He can’t be here alone. They can catch him.”

“So what? I don’t give a shit if they kill him or something.”

Phil looked at Mandy for a moment and she moved her hands not understanding why he was judging her so hard for her words. It wasn’t like she hadn’t voiced everyone else’s thoughts.

“Thank you very much for your humanity lesson, Mandy.” She snorted and flipped her hair. She grew up in the South Side, of fucking course she has a lack of humanity. “But it’s not just that. If they capture them, they’ll get information about us from him. We can’t let that happen.”

“Don’t even look at me. I’m not staying here with him. I’m going get my brother.” Lip said when everyone laid their eyes on him just because.

“Don’t worry, I’ll stay with sandy boy.”

Lip turned his head to see Svetlana behind him. “No way. You’ll kill him the moment we’ll leave this corridor.”

“Please,” the woman said moving a hand just to downplay it. “I already have too much blood on my hands; I don’t want to make it worse.”

Everyone there, except for Scott, blinked in surprise. “man, what the fuck is your wife talking about?” Lip asked Mickey without taking his eyes off the Russian woman.

“I have no fucking idea. Sometimes she says that kind of shit that really freaks me out.”

One minute later, Svetlana and Scott were back in the air duct and the rest were leaving that fucking corridor for the first time. They opened the door and got to the stairs where they last saw Ian and Dev. The two Milkovich siblings held their hands for a moment and took a long breath before diving in.

\--------------------------

It was all surprisingly calm. It was weird but Mickey had the feeling something was wrong – apart from being in the fucking lion’s den. They reached the tenth floor without any incident and it felt like a little victory. Phil put his head out to the corridor and made a sing to let the others know there were two guards.

“Where?” Ben asked very lowly.

“On each side of the blue door.”

And Mickey rolled his eyes because he didn’t need to ask to know that. It was so fucking obvious that sometimes he wondered if they just liked to waste saliva.

Phil retrieved a little can from his backpack and pressed on the top just before throwing it in the corridor. A big cloud of smoke filled the area and Mickey tightened the grip on his baseball bat. A second later, after Phil’s command, he ran through the smoke and aimed to the first human part he localized. He heard the crack of a broken knee and the scream of the other guard after Mandy had used the baton on him – which she had taken from Scott.

Desperately, Mickey looked around until he saw the doorknob. But he stopped for a couple of seconds before moving it. Preparing his body for any kind of scenarios he could find in that room. He closed his eyes and tried to picture Ian. Ian was in there. He had to get Ian. Ian.

He opened the door.

What he found there wasn’t in any of the hundred scenarios his head had imagined.

Ian was lying on a stretcher with a bunch of wires on his body connected to a big computer just behind him. But the most shocking part wasn’t that. There was just another person with Ian in that room.

Dev was standing next to Ian completely free with a wide smile in his face. What the fuck?


	17. The fable

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More than a month since I last updated this fic, I'm the worst. Sorry!!! I had to study for my finals u.u  
> Beta'd by joidianne4eva. Thank you hon!!

“How did you and orange boy meet?”

Svetlana wasn’t a chatty person. She didn’t do nice conversations make comments about the weather to avoid an awkward silence. The Russian woman only talked when it was necessary or when the moment required her sassiness. That moment in that air duct wasn’t any of those two scenarios. But she was stuck in there with Scott and the rest were out fighting to get Ian and Dev back. She cared about all of them but she couldn’t even think that there was a possibility that her husband could be dead.

Scott looked at her in surprise. He had cringed when he had heard her first words but his shock at the turn of the events hadn’t left space for his relief After a few moments, once he was sure the woman had finished and wasn’t going to try to hit him, he took a deep breath and shrugged.

“At a party.” He focused his eyes on a point inside the dark air duct before elaborating. “We both had just arrived in L.A. My cousin was living there and she took me this fancy party the company where she works was throwing. I saw him in a black suit and damn! It was love at first sight.” Scott leaned his head against the cold metallic wall and tried to stretch his legs as much as he managed. “He was wearing this green and red tie that matched his eyes and hair, and I thought it was the most wonderful thing I’d even seen.”

Scott couldn’t help smiling at the memory. “Anyway; Emily, my cousin, introduced us and after a few minutes of conversation, I asked him for his phone number. Maybe I looked really anxious, you know? But I wouldn’t have forgiven myself if I hadn’t tried.”

Svetlana nodded in the darkness. She had never experienced love at first sight; she had only seen that crap in movies. But she had always believed that people experienced what they really wanted to live. A state of mind that took over their selves and could project their desires. Scott was an asshole but he was in love. And no one could deny it, even assholes could feel love. As all our virtues intensify when we’re high in love, assholness was powerful in Scott when Ian was around. And Svetlana could do nothing but nod and laugh. Love at first sight was a shitty fairy tale made up by Disney to justify the prince had fallen in love with a servant after only a fucking dance in which they didn’t even talk. Real life love stories weren’t Cinderella. But Svetlana believed the world would be a better place if that kind of love were real.

“How did you meet Mickey?”

She wrinkled her nose and took her time to think about how to explain the situation.

“His father was one of my costumers.”

“Oh,” the waitress smiled because she knew he had taken the hint about her previous job without having to explain. “And what did you sell?” Well, Svetlana had thought too early. She faceplamed and sighed hoping he would never take a step on the South Side. He would end up more destroyed than Mickey’s ass at a gay party.

“The usual: my hand, my mouth, my pussy and occasionally for 50 dollars more, my ass.”

She didn’t care about people knowing she had been a prostitute. The way she saw it, she was a survivor and had gotten out of that world. She regretted how she had achieved it, but she didn’t know where her life would have been if Mickey hadn’t been there for her. She really loved him, as you love a brother, as if he were more than blood. Because he was more than blood. That’s why she had said enough about how they met. Scott didn’t need to know that shit.

“Oh!” he repeated again, this time more dramatically when realization hit him. “I suppose this isn’t a story where he hires you for a week and you go shopping to Rodeo Street and then he climbs the fire escape with a bouquet.”

The Russian woman snorted because that what the greatest shitty fairy tale for hookers ever. “That’s impossible. I don’t have a cock. Neither does Julia Roberts.”

“We’re dammed, huh? You’re a lesbian married to a closeted gay man and I’m in love to a guy who loves said closeted gay man. And we’re all probably going to die here.”

Svetlana couldn’t believe she was feeling sympathy for that sandy boy, but she was. Still, her tongue was always sharp and she never missed an opportunity. “Speak for yourself, loser. I have a pussy out there waiting for me and like hell I’m going to die here.”

_________________________

“What is this? What the fuck are you doing there? Untie Ian and let’s get the fuck out of here!”

But Dev wasn’t moving. And Mickey had an idea why. He didn’t want to believe it, though. He didn’t want to believe he had been fooled for all those days.

“Hello Mickey. Thanks for joining us.”

 “You’ve got to be fucking joking me” Mickey thought while he saw some armed guards entering the room through a back door. He raised his hands when they all aimed at him and he didn’t even try to make a move. Not even to get his own gun. Mickey wasn’t suicidal, thank you very much. “This is all Phil, right? You and him conspired with Hypnos. Fucking traitors.”

Dev laughed and Mickey wanted to break all his white teeth so hard he’d need a straw to eat for the rest of his life. He glanced to Ian. He seemed so peaceful when he slept, even when he had wires attached to him.

“Please,” he waved a hand in the air. “Phil can’t find his own ass with his hands.”

“That’s impossible, man. He’s a total ass.”

Dev was impressed that the mechanic could find his sarcastic humour in that situation. But Mickey was a box full of surprises. He looked like a brainless thug from a marginal neighborhood and Mickey was aware of that. However, it was far from the truth and Mickey knew how to play that card. Brainless his ass.

“So what? You did this alone? I can feel your fucking knife in my back.”

“I didn’t betray you, Mickey. I didn’t ally with Hypnos. I’m Hypnos.”

Silence fell over the room. Mickey lowered his hands and looked around him focusing on the faces of who were pointing a gun at him. Dev waited for a dramatic reaction, an explosion or something that made him feel powerful. But it never came. Instead, the mechanic finally looked at him and rubbed his lower lip.

“Come again? I didn’t hear you.”

“I- I said I’m Hypnos.” The man repeated totally confused. His words lacked the power he had wanted to have.

Mickey burst into laughter. “Oh man, that’s a shit, huh? How the fuck are you in charge of all this?” The mechanic finally said moving his hand making reference to the guards and the brain behind them.

Dev was petrified. The other man was supposed to fear him, to beg him to release him and Ian or at least, feel admiration for making him and the rest think he was one of them. But instead he was standing before him with a funny face and Dev had a  suspicion the black-haired man was about to fetch a cigarette and smoke.

But he didn’t. Mickey raised his eyebrows and waited for an explanation. If that fucker was overwhelmed by that question he was about to fry his brain. That one was the first of a long goddammed list. No wonder the guy was a fucking pussy who needed an army of guards to protect himself.

“I’m going to tell you fable, Mickey.” He seemed to have recovered the confidence and arrogance he had lost moments before. Who the fuck was this guy? Mickey couldn’t believe it was the same dude who had been fighting by his side not even an hour before.

“The world has always wanted to find a way to control minds. After World War II, the world was divided into two sides, the communists and the capitalists. Russia was the enemy and we didn’t want the rise of another Hitler, so mind control was the best solution.”

“Cut the crap, Apu. My father is a fucking nazi. I grew up learning all that shit.”

“Really? You call me that when you have ten guns aiming at your head?”

Mickey shrugged. If he was going to die, nobody was making him shut his mouth. “What can I say? I like taking risks.”

“Anyway, in the early fifties the CIA started a secret and illegal program about mind control called Project MK Ultra. They experimented on humans making them take drugs and tortured them during interrogations until they were forced to confess crimes they hadn’t even committed. Besides the drugs; they used hypnosis, sexual abuse, sensory deprivation, isolation, etcetera. Of course, this program was shut down because it was an atrocity.”

Dev started walking accross the room until getting closer to Ian. Too for Mickey’s taste. He was trying to make Mickey lose his shit and the mechanic knew it. That’s why he breathed deeply and calmed himself down.

“However, the menace was still there. And some years ago, my father resumed the study of mind control creating the project Hypnos. It was quickly supported by the government and got funds. He used my mother as the first subject because he strongly believed this would make the world a safer place. We provide our subjects dreams, we don’t torture them. But as soon as the government found out Hypnos was used on civilians, they cancelled the project and repudiated my father. A few days later, he hung himself in my home.”

Dev took a second and cleared his throat before continuing. “He died thinking his project wasn’t worthy, that he was a monster. But like hell I was going to let the world think that. I’ll save the world from another World War and I don’t fucking care if you fell in love and want to live freely with your boyfriend!”

Despite starting to talk calmly, he was shouting now. He was more than furious. His father died for all those subjects and he still had to put up with one of them saying shit about the project and trying to destroy the brain and all of Hypnos with it.

“So what’s the bottom line?”

“Huh?” No, seriously, Mickey had to stop doing that every time he was in a position of power and fear. What the hell?

If Dev thought his shouting had scared Mickey,  he’d clearly underestimated the South Side. Everyone who grew up there was used to people’s rage and threats. Especially if you were a Milkovich and your father busted your ass on a daily basis. At that moment, Dev’s rage was his amphetamine.

“I wasn’t good at English but I remember a fable always has bottom line. Like… don’t take a fucking nap or the turtle will win the race or capitalism sucks.”

“Well, you’re a bottom, say a line.”

Mickey shook his head and looked at Dev dead in the eye. “Nah, it’s not funny.”

A silence fell between the two men and Mickey’s eyes swept the room with his eyes to examine his and Ian’s situation one more time. His lover was still sleeping peacefully away from all what was happening in there. No guns pointing at him, just a bunch of wires controlling his feelings and brain.

“What are you doing here, Mickey?”

“I think it’s pretty obvious what I’m doing here.” He signalled to Ian with his head.

“No; I mean, why haven’t you tried something yet? You’re not the kind of guy who stands still and doesn’t fight but has a chat.”

Mickey changed the balance of his legs and scratched his cheek. He knew eleven pairs of eyes were following his every move. “Oh, that. I needed you to keep talking.”

Dev furrowed his brow. He was even more confused than before.

“What for?”

At that moment, the door of the room burst open and the twelve men looked at what it was being revealed before them. Everyone but Mickey. He just smiled knowing exactly what was coming.

“For us, motherfucker!”

Mandy was at the threshold aiming her AK 47 at Dev. She didn’t lose time. She moved to let the rest in and started shooting the guards while Mickey got down on the floor and Dev ran to hide like a cockroach behind the stretcher where Ian was sleeping.

Crawling under the gunfire, the mechanic reached for the gun Lip had slid towards him, as he’d ran out of bullets, and sat up in time to shoot and put a bullet in the head of one of the guards who was about to do the same to him.

The surprise element had been crucial to win a battle where they were short in numbers In almost a blink of an eye, the ten guards were on the floor dead or badly hurt by gunshot. But when it seemed everything was over and they could finally destroy the brain, they realized Dev had a knife on Ian’s throat.

“Dev, I swear to god if you don’t drop that knife and let my brother go I’m going to turn you into a strainer.”

Lip was the one to talk because Mickey was very busy trying not to lose his shit and do something stupid that would end up Dev killing Ian.

“If you take one more step towards me, I’ll cut his throat and you’ll see him die!”

Fuck everything! I’m going to kill that son of a bitch with my bare hands! Mickey hadn’t even taken the whole first step when Phil and Aisha were stopping him.

“No! Let me go! I’m going to end that fucking bitch!” Phil and Aisha took him to the corridor while the rest continued pointing their arms at Dev.

“Calm down Mickey! We have a plan” Aisha said in a low voice while the mechanic kept trying to get loose. “We don’t have much time, more guards are coming. So you have to listen to Phil very carefully.”

Mickey came to his senses and nodded while his breath was still uneven.

“Alright!” Phil touched his shoulder and his blue eyes looked at the older man. “You’re close enough to be in a lucid dream state. But Ian is lost in the dream, he’s being controlled. You’ll be awake in it, though.”

Mickey nodded again to make him understand he was following what the other man was saying.

“I’m going to inject this drug that will make you sleep in seconds. You need to find Ian, wake him up, explain everything and jump. All in less than an oneiric hour, okay?”

Mickey didn’t know how his life had changed so much in a few days that he could understand that scientific-philosophical shit language. “Got it.”

“Good, We’ll protect you from here.” Aisha reassured him. “Ben, Kate and Lip! Get your asses here!” She shouted.

The three turned around and assumed their positions around Mickey while Phil injected the drug in Mickey’s arm.

“What about Dev?” Mickey asked restlessly.

“Don’t worry, Mickey. Mandy has it covered.”

Kate’s voice was the last the mechanic heard before seeing black. He knew it was going to be the worst hour of his life. But he couldn’t help feeling anxious because he knew he was going to touch Ian again, even if it was just in dreams.


	18. The Bitter End

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you like it! And thanks for reading.  
> Beta'd by baclblood.

There are few activities the human being does to live. Among eating, breathing or drinking, humans sleep. Sometimes we dream, sometimes we don’t. But that succession of images and emotions we have at some stages of sleep are an involuntary act. At least it was for Mickey, but not anymore. He had been always in alert, watching his back even at home, where his father was ruthless.

However, when his head touched his pillow, felt the hard mattress under the length of his body and his eyes closed, he was defenseless. Those were the moments when he decided to be unprotected and leave his mind fly. It was his choice and Mickey loved it because what he got was a peaceful moment, a Terry-free land where his brain was no longer controlled by the responsibilities and the survival instincts. Mickey enjoyed sleeping because it could mean two things: whether his mind went blank or he dreamt. But above all, he loved sleeping because it was freedom.

But that had changed. Now sleeping meant dreaming and headaches, no more blank mind. It meant control and stress. And it meant Ian.

He collided on the pavement with his shoulder and it hurt like a bitch. He looked up and realized where he was; just under the L tracks. Last time he was in the dream, Ian and him had jumped from the station, so it meant Ian had landed on the same spot where he was standing and cursing while he tried to move his arm. After a few movements, he decided nothing was broken and everything was in its right place. The pain would go away, he only needed a whiskey.

He had to find Ian first, though. So, if he had been captured around one hour ago, he must have been dreaming about forty-five minutes. He only had to convert that into oneiric time and then think about how far Ian could have gone. He had always been good at Maths so it should be easy. Mickey started counting with his hand and after almost one minute, he gave up. “Fuck it! I’ll do it my way,” which basically was looking for Ian and threatening people to tell him where he was. Mr Neil could suck his dick. Not only Math could be useful every day, being a Milkovich too.

\-------------------------

Her brother had just closed his eyes when Mandy looked at the front again. She was holding her AK 47 and aiming at the man who had shared a bed with a few hours ago. The woman’s head had a lot to process because she didn’t understand why Dev had betrayed them. Why he had played with her. She hadn’t had time to ask, though. Mandy only knew she had to protect her older brother and that was enough for her.

“Did you start the chronometer, Ben?” The waitress had seen it with her own eyes. But she wanted to be sure. If Ian and Mickey weren’t back in less than three minutes, they had to wake Mickey up and get the fuck out of there leaving Ian behind. Or all of them would be dead.

Mandy heard Ben confirm it and she nodded.

“No matter what you do, I’ll kill Ian the moment the rest of the guards come into this room.” He saw Mandy tighten her grip on her weapon and the man smiled.

“Do you know what happens when one of the partners in a couple die while they’re in a dream?” He raised his black and thick eyebrows and hold Ian’s body tighter against him. “The other person gets trapped in the dream forever. They need to be two in order to jump and get up.”

And Dev finally saw the horror in someone’s eyes. Mandy‘s legs felt suddenly weak and she had the urge to start shooting. However, now she had more reasons than before for not doing it.

“I bet Phil didn’t know about this, huh Phil?”

“Shut the fuck up!” Mandy yelled. She couldn’t hurt him physically. But like hell she was going to keep her mouth shut seeing how that rat ruined her brother’s life.

Phil didn’t answer. He knew what Dev was doing. He was trying to distract them, to make them lose concentration and fail. But he wouldn’t let him get in his head. He had fooled him once, majestically. And that would be the last time.

\-------------------------

Mickey had heard the name of the company where Ian worked hundreds of times: _Bow Productions_. The problem was that he had never stepped in the L.A part of the dream world. That was only Ian territory. And, of course, he had never been to the city in the real world. So he had no idea where it was. He only knew it wasn’t far from their home and Ian walked to work if the weather was good. Luckily, mobile phones hadn’t been erased by Hypnos in this world and he took his from his pocket and google maps gave him the answer.

The mechanic had to recognize that everything felt authentic. It was like being in the actual cities. His house was an exact replica with the same old furniture and holes in the wall. He even had the same own brand shampoo he bought at the nearest supermarket in his bathroom. Mickey didn’t know who and how had made all so realistic and exact, but if he had to be honest, genius were the adjective that came up to his mind to describe the people who created Hypnos. Except from Dev, he was a total asshole motherfucker.

It was easy to find the building where his lover worked. He checked his watch before entering through the door; it had been fifteen minutes since the dream had begun.

Once he was inside, Mickey went directly to the front desk where a beaming blonde young woman was. He read her name in the badge on her shirt and cleared his voice.

“I’m sorry sir, we’re about to close.” She said before Mickey could even open his mouth.

“Right. Yeah, I know… er… Stacey. I’m here for Ian Gallagher. Is he here in the building?”

The woman opened tilted her head for a second as if she were trying to remember some difficult information. “Yes! You’re lucky because he left this morning but he came back a couple of hours ago.” She shrugged as if she were used to employees leaving the workplace in a hurry in the middle of the day and then coming back for only two hours. “Do you want me to tell him you’re here?”

Mickey didn’t know for sure in what state Ian was so he preferred not to warn him he was there. “No. I want to surprise him. I’m his boyfriend.” He was in the dream and they were officially boyfriends there, right? He even could swear Ian hung the gay flag in their porch during Pride Day. Or maybe that was in a dream inside the dream. Anyway, fuck everything! He had the intention to get out of there and never come back. So all these would die with the _Brain_.

Stacey’s smile grew wider and Mickey didn’t like it. “Oh! So you’re Mickey! Ian has talked so much about you. How are things at the garage?”

“Fine. Everything is great.” Mickey tried to hold a smile while he rolled his eyes internally. At that point he was sure the blonde knew which brand of lube they used and Mickey wished the Earth would swallow him. “So Stacey, this is my first time here. Can you tell me where I can find him?”

“Sure! Fifth floor. It is almost empty by now, so it won’t be difficult for you to find him.”

He didn’t even say goodbye to Stacey. He just got into the elevator and waited for the moment when the doors open and reveal the fifth floor.

Just as the blonde had said, the place was almost empty so it was easy to see the beacon Ian’s red hair was. In fact, there was only another person on that floor and it was an elder woman sat next to the redhead. The mechanic started to walk towards them.

“I think my time here is done for today. See you tomorrow Ian.”

“Bye David”

Mickey slowed down his pace for a bit. There was something in Ian’s voice. It was automatic, lack of that spark of life Ian always emanated. And he knew for a fact that Ian and David were friends so there weren’t any reasons for that emotionless goodbye.

The elder woman, or David or whoever it was, was already in the elevator when the black-haired man reached Ian’s desk. He could notice the picture the scriptwriter had next to the computer. It was one of Ian and his siblings splashing water to each other in the swimming pool in the Gallagher’s backyard. Mickey knew that photo very well because they had the same one at their house. Apparently Ian loved it. He only had seen Fiona and Lip in the flesh, but the mechanic could swear he had heard his other sister, Debbie, was a redhead; the youngest, Liam, was black (although everybody in the South Side knew Frank Gallagher had a black son); and Carl… well, he didn’t know what Carl looked like much, only what Carl did. However, they weren’t as Ian had described and suddenly, Mickey felt a lump in his throat when he thought Ian smiled fondly every day at a pic of himself surrounded by strangers.

“Ian.” He called him hoping the redhead would recognize his voice. But he didn’t, he didn’t even turned around. “Ian!” He tried again shaking his shoulder a bit this time. The scriptwriter pushed his hands on the desk and got up from the chair. He turned off his computer screen and took his jacket. Then moment he started to walk passing Mickey by as if he were a ghost, the mechanic petrified. He knew Ian wasn’t going to be in a lucid dream state, but he had had the slight hope he would recognize him at least. But this Ian was a drone.

A few seconds later, he was in the elevator with Ian. On their way down the five floors, he tried to wake him up in every way he came up with. He shook him, screamed his name, kissed him, called him asshole. But Ian was checking his phone as if there wasn’t a crazy black-haired man jumping on the elevator.

It was raining outside when they left the building, so Ian went to the bus stop and used the public transport. Mickey checked his watch, he had ran out of half of the time. He gave zero fucks people were looking at him on the bus while he continued to yell.

“Ian, for fuck’s sake! Wake the fuck up! Dev has you. We have to leave!”

He continued ignoring Mickey’s pleas when they got off the bus. However, something changed when they turned the corner and entered South Side territory. Mickey was just behind Ian and he knew he had finally heard him. He stopped in his tracks and the mechanic breathed a short sigh of relief. When Ian turned around, Mickey could see their home just in front of them. He was watching it when he felt the pressure of Ian’s hands on his throat.

“You can’t escape from us. We’re Hypnos.”

\-------------------------

“They’re coming. They’ll be here in about thirty seconds.” Kate said checking the stairs. They had blocked the elevators so it would take the guards longer to reach them.

“How much time does he have left?” Mandy said looking at her sleeping brother.

“One minute and seventeen seconds.” Ben said checking the chronometer.

The woman closed her eyes for a second and tried to breath. She wasn’t prepared for that. If they made it she was going to be kicking Mickey’s ass for at least two years. And she would chop Ian’s cock. Anyway, by the time she had been done, her brother wouldn’t want anything less than a meter near his asshole. “How many are they?”

“Twenty-five, maybe twenty.” Kate stated before running to where they were.

“Fuck, this feels a lot like suicide!” Mandy breathed.

“You know? I don’t know why you bother. You won’t win this. The only thing you are good at is sucking my dick.” Dev said while he continued pointing the knife on Ian’s throat.

“And it was the smallest dick I’ve ever sucked, you piece of shit!”

She felt a hand on her shoulder that softened her rage. She couldn’t afford to lose control. Not when her brother’s life was at stake. “Don’t listen to him, Mandy. He’s the greatest dickhead ever.” She nodded because, for once, Lip was right.

“What are we going to do?” Aisha asked while the noise of the elevator’s door closing and opening mingled with the voice of the guards who were just one floor away.

Phil took a walkie-talkie from one of the backpacks and shouted at the other line “Come here right now!”

\-----------------------

Mickey managed to punch Ian in the stomach and he loosed his grip on his lover’s throat enough for him to escape. The mechanic couldn’t think, he didn’t want to think that the person who he loved had tried to kill him, he wasn’t able to stop and face the problem. So he ran.

He heard the noise that Ian’s steps made behind him. He didn’t have to turn around to know it was, in fact, Ian and not someone else who was chasing after him. Mickey’s body reacted every time the redhead was around. He continued running until the steps behind him stopped. He turned around, worried something might have happened to Ian when a baseball bat impacted in his right side. Mickey bended and coughed a couple of times trying to even his breath and cope with the pain.

He raised his look and saw the other man ready to lower the bat with his head as a target. Had he been in that situation with Ian a few weeks ago and the redhead would be on the floor with some teeth missing by now. But all Mickey could see was the hate in Ian’s eyes. So all he managed to do was begging.

“Ian, please. Don’t do it. Please, I love you, don’t do this.”

But Ian lowered the baseball bat. And Mickey closed his eyes.

However, when it was about to touch the target, it stopped. When the older man opened his eyes, Ian was staring at what he had in front of him. It was the Gallagher house. From where they were, they could see the same backyard where Ian’s favorite photo was taken.

“I know this place.”

Mickey got up and took the baseball bat from Ian and threw it away. “Yes, yes.” He said making sure he was still alive. “It’s the house where you grew up.”

The scriptwriter turned his head and looked at his lover as if he had just noticed he was there. He was indeed very shocked. “Mickey?”

“Oh, Thank God Ian. You’re lucid!”

“What are we doing here?”

Mickey took a step forward and cradled the other man’s face with his hands. “I came for you. Look, I don’t have much time to explain.” He checked his watch again. Thirteen minutes. “Dev is Hypnos. The fucker had been fooling us and he has you. We have to jump to weak up. But he has a knife on your throat. So when you wake up, it will take him by surprise. You need to elbow on his stomach or some shit like that quickly. Okay?”

“That son of a bitch! I’m going to kill him.”

“Well, get in the line. You’ll have to fight Mandy first. She wants to go all Jigsaw on him.”

“Okay. The L station is the nearest jump. Let’s go!”

They started to run towards the station. However; it seemed that Ian trying to kill him wasn’t the biggest of their problems, as when they turned the corner, they found the little girl holding the baseball bat Ian had used and a crowd behind her.

“Long time I didn’t see you, guys. Missed me?”

“Fuck! Turn around, Mickey, follow me.”

“Fuck you Samara!” The mechanic said before following Ian’s instructions. “Where are we going?”

“There’s… there’s a place next my apartment. An underground parking lot entrance.” He looked behind to check how ahead they were from their pursuers. “We can jump from there.”

\-----------------------

The first guards entered the floor. Mandy made sure she covered as much of Mickey as she could before starting to shoot.  It was easy to kill or hurt the first ones as the door was a bottleneck. But more and more guards were coming and despite all their efforts, the guards advanced quickly.

The waitress looked a moment at Dev with a furious rage and spat “See you at the bitter end.” If she was going to die, Dev would go first.

Aisha was the one to deck one guard with a blow using the butt of her gun. All went down from there. They were too near to shoot bullets, so the real fight started. And they were screwed. They would have had a chance if they had managed to hold the guards at the door. But there were too many guards and they were only six.

“Sorry Mickey” That was all Mandy thought before stabbing a guard in his chest.

\------------------------

They were a few meters away from the parking lot when one woman reached Mickey and made him fall. Two other men followed him kicking the mechanic who was on the floor. But Ian wasn’t going to let them kill the man he loved, so he jumped and punched one of the men and the woman while Mickey fought the other man.

They got up and resumed to go to the parking lot when they found the little girl there, as if she were to jump.

“Come here if you dare.” She said while she played with the baseball bat that she was holding.

That girl was scary as fuck. But the truth is that there were scarier things in their lives, such as being trapped in the dream forever. Mickey checked his watch. One minute. “We don’t have any other option.”

Ian smile at the older man while he started to run again. “I’ve wanted to do this forever.” He said before pushing the little girl and watching her fall. Mickey arrived just in time to see her body collide with the floor. “Goodbye Samara. It was fucking nice to have met you.” He stood on the edge, next to Ian and looked and the rest of the people trying to reach them. “Goodbye bitches.”

They jumped.

And all went black.


	19. Blood

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Beta'd by baclblood.
> 
> Thank you for reading. Enjoy!

Breathe. Open your eyes. Tense your muscles. Hold your breath. Hit. Five actions Ian was taught in his ROTC training and his brain was kind to remind him.

In three seconds he went from being asleep and with a knife on his neck to wide awake and the bladed weapon on the floor. Dev had lost the grip of it due to his reaction to the impact Ian’s elbow had on his right side. The redhead could feel the thud noise Dev’s lungs made when they were hit and he knew for a fact that the other man was going to collapse.

So Dev was on the floor and the knife had fallen a meter away from him. It could have been easy to take the weapon and slit his throat just like Sweeney Todd. But Ian had just woken up and he was feeling the effects of the sleep inertia, as every time he took a long nap. He was dammed for feeling so groggy at that moment.

The scriptwriter saw Mickey trying to get up. Or some glimpses of him as he was surrounded by their allies fighting the guards. Ian shouted to let them know he was awake, as they hadn’t noticed they were back from the dream world until then. It was his brother the first one to turn his head and look at him in surprise. Ian thought that Lip could have believed they weren’t going to make it. “ _Well, fuck you smartass. You’re not always right._ ” Lip smiled as he had been able to read his little – well, not so little - sibling’s mind and resumed firing his gun.

Ian reacted as soon as he heard Dev’s moans. He took the electrodes around his body and jumped from the stretcher. All his weight fell on Dev’s body, who was crawling to get the knife. Both knew whoever took it, would win the fight and the other would lose his life.

 

The mechanic was experiencing the worst awakening ever. He didn’t have to deal with the headaches and flashes anymore, but the sound of multiple guns firing around him? Horrible. He groaned at the same time he pinched his nose. He was trying to remember why there wasn’t a mattress under his body when he heard a scream. Between someone’s legs, he managed to see Ian connected to all those cables and trying to move his numb body. Then he remembered.

“Oh my god! You’re back! You’re… fucking back!”

Mickey could feel all the relief in the world trapped in those words his sister had pronounced. He had also been afraid that he wouldn’t be able to see her again. But he was there, seeing her gorgeous smile and her blue eyes shining under her dark bangs. And the mechanic wanted to see those two things for many more years. So he grabbed the AK 47 Phil offered him and joined the party.

“What did I miss?” he said after he fired his first shot which aimed at a guard who was asphyxiating Kate.

“Nothing important. Just a bunch of assholes dying and Dev being a dick.” Aisha clearly didn’t have time for anyone’s bullshit.

“Whoa Aisha! What happened to you while I was asleep? Last time I checked, you weren’t Bloody Mary.” Mickey said at the same time his eyes witnessed in shock how the woman stabbed a guy.

They had more fighting skills than the guards. However, they were losing. No matter how easily they got rid of the guards, they kept coming more and more. They were missing the advantage they had had at first and the distance between them was shorter. They didn’t have much space left to use their firearms and their only option was fighting them one to one.

“Those assholes are more than we can handle.” Lip shouted making reference to what Aisha had said. “I’m sorry to say this, but we need a fucking miracle if we want to make it alive.”

“You’re not helping, fucking smartass!” Great, Karen had joined the club. Why did everybody use that adjective on him? Lip knew he was smart, but his ass had nothing to do with that. He just happened to have a freaking beautiful ass. Or that’s what he thought.

Phil decked one of the guards and took his walkie-talkie from his pocket.

“Where the fuck are you?”

 

Ian had thrown the first punch. It had felt like a victory. He had managed to beat the weird numb feeling and the redhead had felt he was definitely going to win the fight. However, he was throwing his seventh punch – and received four and a knee in his shin which had hurt like a motherfucker – and the son of a bitch didn’t seem to have the intention to give up.

He grabbed his opponent by his t-shirt and got them up. In the process, he made damage control. He certainly had his nose broken. He had heard the crack and seen the blood flying out of his nostrils. He had several cuts in his head from when Dev pushed him on that cupboard and broke its glass door. And his left leg was losing too much blood as the bastard had stabbed him with a fucking scalpel.

But if Ian looked horrible, Dev wasn’t better. He had several broken teeth and his arms were full of cuts as Ian had been hitting him while he was on the scattered broken glass.

The redhead tasted the metallic flavour of the blood before punching Dev again, this time in his stomach. The moment he bent over, Ian grabbed him and pushed him on the stretcher. He jumped and straddled his oppressor. Not even blinking or giving it a second thought, he put his hands around the other man’s throat and pushed.

 

Mickey looked inside the room. He knew Ian was alone in there with Dev and he didn’t like it. He wanted to go and help his lover. Or he would put a bullet in his Hypnos head if Ian weren’t so close to him. He didn’t want to miss and shoot Ian instead by mistake. Also, if he abandoned his position, the others would be screwed. Ian was having a one to one fight, it was a fair one. He couldn’t say the same about the one they were having out there.

However, he checked on Ian every time he could. He needed to know he was fine. He saw the redhead was choking Dev and smiled. His man had everything under control.

He was turning back to the battle he had before him when the mechanic felt a great pain in his head and fell backwards. He was lying on the floor and the world was spinning. He could hear the voice of his sister far away, but she was standing next to him, head-butting and then kicking the asshole who had hit him. Once she was satisfied, she kneeled before him.

“Are you okay?” She asked.

Mickey seemed to be unable to distinguish what she had said. His head hurt so much and the spinning prevented him from reading her lips.

“Mick-“

Mandy didn’t have time to finish saying her brother’s name. Something pushed her and she fell on Mickey. An instant later she realized somebody was covering, protecting them. Then, she heard the groan and a gun firing next to her ear.

Whoever had been on them, wasn’t anymore. She turned her head and saw Lip lying on the floor. His t-shirt was soaked with his own blood and his right hand was on his stomach.

“Lip! Fuck… Lip! You took the bullet for us!”

She removed his hand and pushed gently hers on the wound. Lip coughed and spitted some blood which splashed on his face.

“No. For you,” he stopped for a second and smiled. “My brother is the only person in the world who would be stupid enough to take a bullet for Mickey.”

Now it was Mandy’s turn to smile. She was taking Lip to somewhere safe the moment Mickey raised, full of rage, the spinning long forgotten and smoke getting out from his nostrils like a bull. He decked the guy. The guard didn’t even have time to aim the gun at the black-haired man.

“You dare…” punch “to shoot…” head-butt “my little sister?” Mickey took the gun from the guard’s loosed hand and pistol-whipped him with it. “Fucking asshole.” Mickey sentenced before spitting on his unconscious face.

But it wasn’t the end of the fight. One of their men was down and there were more guards standing than they wished. There were like those infected from _28 Days Later_ , they just kept coming from nowhere.

They were exhausted and there was a pool of blood on the floor, in where their hope swam. There was no way they would win, not with Lip seriously injured and Ian still fighting Dev.

Just when Phil couldn’t see any escape, when he had seen surrender in Ben and Aisha’s eyes, when he was about to give up; four guards fell dead on the floor. And then, everybody could see two people before them, at the other side of the corridor and behind those fallen guards.

Svetlana and Scott were holding their firearms and still aiming at the guards. Phil was holding his walkie-talkie when he shouted.

“Where the fuck had you been? I told you to come here an eternity ago!”

 

Ian felt Dev’s life slipping through his hands. Underneath all his rage he had a weird feeling of guilt. He wasn’t a murderer. But the truth was that, outside his ROTC training, he had only physically hurt someone as an instinct of survival. Unless when it was Frank. Ian’s father got the worst of him and he deserved every punch he got, even if he wasn’t doing anything at that moment. Frank had a lot of karma to deal with. But he had never gone too far.

Some days before he had killed a man in the dream. He was conscious when he did it but he tried not to think about that so much. In the end, Mickey and him had been the only real people in that world and he hadn’t actually killed someone. But the scriptwriter hadn’t been able to shake the feeling that it had been too easy for him to take the decision and take someone’s life.

And there he was, this time in real life. Slowly becoming a murderer. It didn’t matter it was Ian or Dev. He had done a lot of shitty things in his life and he had found redemption for all of them. He could go to bed and get to sleep, he looked at the mirror every morning without feeling repulse and he definitely embraced life as he deserved it. However, he knew that if Dev died in his hands, he wouldn’t be able to do those things ever again.

So for a moment, he loosened his grip on the other man’s throat. A _I don’t deserve to become a murderer_ moment that Dev used quite well for his advantage. And one second later, Ian was on the floor and Dev on top of him choking the redhead in return.

 

“Chill the fuck out, Phil.” Svetlana said with his Russian accent. “Our way here wasn’t a bed of roses. Besides, I had to get a gun for him. The baton doesn’t work for long distances.”

Phil didn’t stop punching the guard on his right when he nodded.

“Yeah, Phil. Chill the fuck out, S&S are already here.” Scott said rising his hand as a sign for Svetlana to high five.

But she didn’t high-five him back and stared at him for a second. “Oh, I see. You think we’re a team just because we’re on this side of the corridor and both our names start with S.”

The man smiled proudly “Brilliant, isn’t it?”

The waitress shot her AK 47 and hit impressively five guards. Scott could notice the menace in her action and swallowed the gulp in his throat.

“No, it isn’t. Now shut your fucking mouth and kill people.”

“I told you she freaked the fuck out of me. Sometimes I don’t know the woman I married.” Mickey shouted from the other side just when he had just kicked in a guard’s crotch. “I swear to God the only references I have of Russia are vodka, Putin memes, those two lesbian chicks who sang and Svetlana. It’s a fucking scary country. No wonder why they created Tetris, they needed joy in their lives.”

There were only ten guards standing when Phil was shot in the chest. Lip was on a corner protected by Mandy but losing too much blood. Karen had joined Svetlana and Scott at the other side of the corridor and Mickey had gone inside the room when he saw Ian was being choked. It was Aisha who ran to him and Ben who stabbed the guard who had shot his ally.

“Don’t worry Phil, you’re going to be okay.” Aisha spoke too soon. After she pronounced them, she knew her words were a lie. The bullet had hit the heart and the only thing she could do was soaking her hand in his blood.

“Do it for your family.” He stretched his hand and cupped her cheek which was a mess of blood and tears.

“No. I’ll do it for my family and for you.”

Phil, the man who hadn’t lost anybody because of Hypnos; the man who created the resistance; who had fought to save so many people’s life but his, smiled and pronounced a weak “that’s my girl” before his hand fell dead with the rest of his body.

 

Mickey was pulling the trigger when the gun flew from his hand and landed near where his lover and the other man were. His hand was hurting but if he wanted to save Ian, first he had to get rid of the son of a bitch who had stopped him from making a hole in Dev’s head. So he turned around and proceeded to pull some teeth out.

The gun flying and firing next to them scared Dev. He jumped on top of Ian just enough for him to move some centimetres and reach the knife that was in the same spot it had been since the moment Ian woke up. The redhead lost no time and stabbed Dev in the first place he found, that is, his ribs.

Dev howled and Ian pushed him away. The scriptwriter didn’t have any energy left. He hoped Dev would give up after having a knife in his side. The only he could do was coughing and finally breathe. No matter what happened next, Ian wasn’t a murderer and hadn’t become one. That was all he could think about.

However, when he saw the Hypnos man on his knees, holding Mickey’s gun and aiming at the mechanic, that thought vanished.

“HYPNOS CAN’T DIE!”

Those were Dev’s last words. Ian slit his throat with the scalpel he had been stabbed with. Dev put his hands on his throat with his eyes wide open first in disbelief and then in realization. He fell on his back and stared at Ian who was looking at him in shock. Dev tried to say something but he was choking on his own blood at the same time he had some spasms. Finally, the light in his eyes faded out and his head fell to the right.

Ian had become a murderer. And Dev’s red blood in his hands was the evidence.

**Author's Note:**

> http://farashanat.tumblr.com/


End file.
